Partners in Turmoil
by EvyC
Summary: Brennan gets a disturbing call. Are her and Booth's worst fears coming true? They have to fight to keep it a secret while trying to find the answers they so desperately need. ok, so I suck at summaries and this is my first fanfic
1. Chapter 1

**This is my first fanfiction so go easy on me. Oh, and sorry if the grammar sucks but im bad at it and didn't really check it. Any feedback would be much appreciated! Anyway, hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bones or the characters.**

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Chapter 1

Temperance was sitting in her office at the Jeffersonian. It was Tuesday night and nearly everyone else had already gone home. She had stayed behind to finish the last of the data that would be needed to ID the newly arrived skeleton. The bones were that of a young boy. Cause of death was a bullet to the brain through the lambodial suture joining the occipital and parietal bones. Other than remodeling to the right ulna the boy contained no clear anomalies to help with the identification. Something about the skeleton had unnerved her so she decided to stay behind and continue her examination.

Her extra time at the lab had proved to be useless as she had found nothing wrong with the remains. She made sure to collect extra samples of the flesh and the area around the head wound before asking for the bones to be cleaned of the little bits of remaining flesh. After the skull had been cleaned she began putting the markers on the skull even though Angela had already gone home. She had put the skull in Angela's office and gone to her own to enter the rest of the information into the file.

Brennan yawned as she turned on the monitor of her computer. It wasn't really that late, but she had a late night Monday and a busy day. Two new bodies had been delivered and her grad. students and a couple of new inters were driving her crazy. They were constantly asking her questions or getting her to approve their work. Running from limbo to the evidence platform the whole day had begun to wear her out and she hadn't even started on the remains. She was beginning to realize that the only was she was going to get anything done was to stay late. Booth wasn't going to be happy about that, but there was nothing else she could do.

It wasn't as late as she used to stay, but on her new schedule it was and she knew she was making them wait. She desperately wanted to get home, take a long bath, and curl up on her soft bed. She was just entering the data for height age, and the remodeled ulna into the computer when a cry from her cell startled her. Picking up the phone she looked at the caller ID before answering.

"Hey Booth." She said as she accepted the call.

"Hi Bones. When are you going to leave the lab?" Booth replied.

"I've just finished entering the last of the data from the preliminary examination."

"Anything useful?"

"Just the bullet wound and a recently healed broken arm."

"Well, the broken arm should help. Not to many missing children have broken arms." There was a hint of uneasiness to Booth's voice and Brennan caught it. She had been getting good at picking up on tones especially with Booth.

"I don't like this one Booth." Brennan said in a pained voice.

"I know. Me neither all the child cases are bad. I mean I just can't stop thinking about what I'd do if something like that happened to Parker."

"I know. Booth nothing like that could will ever happen to Parker. No one should be so cold that they are able to do this to a child. It just isn't right." Brennan thought of all the times she spent with Parker and how much she loved him. Changing the subject she continued, "Anyway, I'll be leaving in a minute."

"Good. I'll start on dinner then. And before you say anything its not going to be takeout," Booth's voice was light and almost begging her comment on what he said.

Brennan smiled and responded in a mockingly stern voice, "No pancakes or anything of the sort."

"Parker loves my pancakes and there's no law against pancakes for dinner," Booth commented in defense.

Brennan laughed and she could almost hear Booth smiling on the other end of the line. "I'll be there in approximately twenty minutes."

"I love you Bones."

"I love you too Booth." Brennan replied and then disconnected and tossed the phone into her purse.

She thought about how weird it was to say it. They'd been together for almost two years and she had gotten used to saying it. Even though it was a little awkward the first few times after he had first said it to her. She still found it odd to say over the phone though even though she knew that she really meant it.

She had adapted to the way Booth thought of love and even though it wasn't logical she often found herself believing everything he said about the matter. Whenever she was with him nothing else existed. He would hold her, smile, or laugh and when she looked into his eyes she could almost feel something in her chest. She knew that it didn't make sense because love came from the brain not the heart, but she found that when she was with him she didn't care. Nothing needed to make sense when she was with him.

They had been partners for five years when Booth had let it slip that he loved her and almost always had. They had been captured and were locked in a dark room. They had no clue where they were or how long they had been there. All they knew was that they were going to die. At first she wasn't sure what to say. Looking at Booth she she saw herself reflected in his eyes. Even in the dim light she could tell that her eyes were saying the same thing that his were. After a long minute just watching each other she had opened her mouth and said it. I love you too. Booth's face when she said that had made her so happy and knowing that he knew what she had wanted to say for a while had made her heart swell.

Brennan looked down at the ring on her finger. It was irrational, but It felt so special like part of Booth was in that ring and would always be with her. She'd consented to marry him even though she didn't really understand why he wanted to so bad. She knew that you had to do things for the other person in a relationship. It had made him so happy when she had finally given in. The ceremony wasn't bad and she had thoroughly enjoyed their honeymoon.

Then there was Parker. She had always enjoyed spending time with him and Booth had often told her how often he commented on her and looked up to her. At first she wasn't sure if that had been such a good thing, but she enjoyed quenching the child's thirst for science. He would come down to the lab after school at least once a week. Although distracting no one at the Jeffersonian seemed to mind his visits. Most of the time he would hang out with Angela and play on the computer or watch and listen to her explain an injury on a skeleton. Except when Hodgins was doing one of his experiments. Booth wasn't sure he like Parker being involved based on the results of some of the Jack's previous experiments, but she had promised that she would make sure it wasn't too dangerous. Hodgins loved Parker's company because the boy was always excited and reminded him of a more socially aware and younger Zach.

Bringing herself back to the office she finished shutting down the computer and began gathering her purse and coat. She glanced around the office looking for anything she might have forgotten. Her eyes paused on the picture of her and the two Booth men.

She was sitting on the ground in the park looking up at Booth, laughing, and holding a football in her hands. Parker's hair covered his eyes and his head was down, but you could tell he was smiling. He was holding her arm in one hand and reaching for the ball with the other. Booth was reaching around her for the ball and looking down into her eyes. He was laughing and his chocolate brown eyes seemed to dance with amusement even in the still frame. Smiling and satisfied that she had everything she needed Brennan turned towards the door. Turning off the lights she glance back.

The room was pitch black except for a faint glow that penetrated the small space between the blinds. The building hummed softly and the skulls in the room stared at her blankly. The eerie looks and sound would have scared most people. She wasn't most people though and the blank stares didn't scare her. They were almost comforting. There was absolutely no worry or fear in her mind. In fact it was probably the farthest thing from her mind.

Her mind was on what awaited her. She knew that Booth would be trying to cook when she got home. The thought made her laugh because she knew he could only make pasta and pancakes. She would never tell him, but she loved it when he cooked for her.

Temperance jumped as her phone gave off a shrill shriek. _Who could possibly be calling me? _She thought as she fumbled around her purse for her cell.

"Brennan," She answered.

"Temperance, when you get back to your home you will see what I have taken from you. If you had just left me alone all of this could have been prevented. No, you had to mess around in someone else's business. When you figure it out don't contact the authorities. Don't let Seeley tell the FBI or there will be dire consequences. You will be contacted again." A rough computerized voice stated and then disconnected.

Temperance was frozen as the possibilities whirled through her head. One in particular stuck out. They had caught her. The only killer they had encountered that used a computerized h voice. They had locked her up for life. _She could have escaped. It happens. She would want revenge. _Finally the rational part of her brain told her that this couldn't be happening. _Stop it. They were just trying to scare you. He was just on the phone. Get home and see for yourself._

Temperance hurried to her car and sped towards her apartment. She sprinted up the stairs dreading what she would find when she opened the door to her house. She threw open the door and ran towards the kitchen.

Booth was standing at the stove pouring a bag of noodles into the pot of boiling water. He didn't hear her entrance and hadn't realized she was home until he heard her breathing heavily behind him. Turning he smiled when he saw her, but his smile was immediately replaced by concern when he saw her eyes.

"B...Booth," she stammered as if she were surprised to see him. As soon as she saw his eyes her fears vanished. Her heart swelled and she knew everything would be all right just like it always was. Something nagged at her about the phone call though. Trying to wipe the fear from her face so that she wouldn't have to tell him just yet.

"Yeah. Bones what's wrong?" he responded quickly while gently grabbing her arms and trying to get her to meet his eyes.

"I..I thought you'd been kidnapped." She forced the words out, her voice cracking. She avoided his eyes afraid that he would see the moisture that was filling them.

"What! Why would you think that?" a shocked Booth replied.

Slowly he turned her face towards him with his finger and forcing her to look at him. What he saw in her eyes scared him. She looked so worried, but there was relief there as well. He tried to focus on the relief and hope in her eyes and remain strong like she needed him to be. Truly he was frightened by sight. Even in the time they had been together she still was reserved when it came to emotions. She'd definitely opened up, but the walls were still there and kept ready in case she needed them. To see so much fear in her eyes meant that something terrible must have happened and he felt powerless standing there clueless as to what could have done this to her.

"I got a call.." drawing in a shaky breath Temperance continued, "they caller said that when I got home something would be missing. I thought…I mean…the last time…" she couldn't finish. The tears in her eyes spilled over and rolled down her cheeks. Booth wiped the tears from her cheeks and followed their paths down her face with his finger.

She remembered exactly what the voice had said: _I have taken Seeley Booth. He has been buried alive. He has twenty-four hours to live… _The pain the memory caused her would never go away. She remembered what it was like when she had tried to imagine what life would be like with Booth gone. It had been devastating and she had tried to forget the thought.

He knew what she was referring to. He remembered when he received that same call. He pulled her into his arms. Her head pressed into his chest. He kissed the top of her head. Of course he remembered. He remembered every time she had ever been hurt or kidnapped or even just not near him. Every time she went on one of her trips he felt like he was being ripped apart. The gravedigger. It was the worst all the times she had been in danger.

"Bones you know that she's is in prison." He said it to convince himself as well. Booth ran a reassuring hand down her back as her arms reached around his neck and she tilted her head up to look at him.

"Yeah, I know. It's just. It was so similar I just couldn't think straight." She knew it had been irrational and decided that he was right. Putting it out of her head and thinking just about Booth and his warm embrace. She relaxed and sunk farther into his arms. He whispered quietly into her ear that everything was all right.

"It's ok. Everything is ok. Tomorrow we will figure out what the call was about ok?" Booth held her at arms length and she nodded.

She moved closer her eyes locked on his. He saw that the fear was gone, but she was still worried. Bending slightly he kissed her on the forehead. Then she reached up and pulled him down into a full kiss. He kissed her back and then just held her against him. He wished they could stay like that forever. Locked in an embrace seeming to communicate with just their thoughts and eyes. Finally the noise of the bubbling water brought him back to reality and he loosed his arms.

"Now, you go get Parker while I finish the pasta." He said kissing her head and smiling to himself. As he watched her leave he remembered a time when Temperance would never show that much emotion. He was so glad that she had finally opened up to him and acknowledged what they had.

Booth turned back to the pasta, but was still wondering about the call. _Stop worrying. Remember what you said. You'll deal with it tomorrow. She was so scared. Maybe it was more than I thought. No, that's something for tomorrow._ He returned to straining the pasta and was just reaching for the plates when he heard a scream from the other room.


	2. Chapter 2

**I wasn't sure about some of the stuff in this chapter, but I really wanted to update. Sorry that it's shorter than the first. I'm hoping that most of my chapter will be at least this long since I know I hate it when Chapters are really short.**

**Also, Superbowl time (I'm prob. only gonna watch the second half since I don't really care about the teams that are in it)!!!! I won't take offense if no one reads this chapter today since it is a kinda bad time to put it up, but I just didn't feel like doing homework...probably a bad idea. Anyway, here is Chapter 2!**

**Oh, and I don't own Bones.**

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Chapter 2

Temperance left the kitchen and started towards Parker's room. Seeing Booth and the warm embrace they had shared had made her worry go away. Now she was just happy. She loved spending time alone with her boys. Parker was always so much fun and he was so smart. Then Booth was well, Booth.

Smiling she opened the door to Parker's room calling, "Hey, Park-" her voice stopped short when she saw the room.

The first thing she realized was that there was no one there and the lights were off. As she turned on the lights and her eyes scanned the room she let out a scream and collapsed on the ground.

Sitting on the bed and staring at the door was the skeleton of a young boy. Brennan couldn't breath. The caller had said something would be gone and that it was her fault. It was her fault. Parker was gone and it was her fault. She stared at the floor her eyes glazed over.

Booth burst into the room and took it all in in a matter of seconds. The emptiness, the mess, the skeleton, and Brennan. She didn't move when he came in. She just sat there eyes on the floor.

Parker wasn't there. He wouldn't have left the house and Booth would have heard him if he did. He would've heard someone one come in to take the boy. When had Parker disappeared. He had been there less than a hour ago. He looked at the window and saw that it was closed and locked. You can't lock a window from the outside so wither Parker snuck past him and walked out or had been taken out through the front door.

He was a terrible father. He had let his son get taken from right under his nose. Brennan deserved better. She had let them into her life. They had been working together for six years before he had decided he couldn't contain his feelings any longer and had told her that he loved her. Six years and she had barely been able to admit that she loved him too. It had taken months to get her to live with him and Parker and even longer for her to marry him and admit that they were officially family.

All that time and work and he had failed her. After finally getting what he had wanted most for years he had failed her and let their son get taken. He had failed and now she was going to shut him out. He couldn't lose her. He couldn't let her go back to the way it was before and he knew that is what would happen if anything happened to Parker. He would never forgive himself if Parker died.

"Temperance," Booth said softly and put a hand on her shoulder. She didn't move upon hearing her name or feeling his touch.

"Temperance. Parker...Where? Is that?" Booth stammered as he stared at the skeleton. Still she didn't move. She couldn't.

Booth turned away from her and tore up the room looking for something, anything, that could give a clue as to where Parker was. Out of breath from his frantic searching Booth stopped and looked at Brennan. Her eyes were moist and glazed staring unblinking at the floor. He averted his gaze and looked again at the skeleton.

That's when he saw what was sitting behind the skeleton. Two small black boxes connected by a cord. His first thought was that it was a bomb. Booth grabbed his unresponsive wife and pulled her out of the room and pulled her to the ground. He covered his wife and once again tried to get her attention.

"Bones. Temperance!", his voice raised as he gently shook her shoulders and then held her head in his hands.

"Booth...Park..Parker," she said so quietly that he only heard mumbling.

He couldn't loose her to shock on top of everything. He needed her. He couldn't do this alone. He moved towards the couch bringing Brennan with him. He held her in his arms and whispered into her hair.

"Temperance. I need you. Come back Bones. He's fine. We're going to find him, but I need you. We have to save him. I need you. Please Temperance come back to me," Booth pleaded as he held her and looked into her eyes. Slowly her vacant stare lifted off the ground and met his eyes.

"My fault," she cried just loud enough for him to hear.

"How? How is this your fault? Temperance you need to listen to me and answer my questions," Booth desperately tried to remain calm as he said it.

"The call. He said. I...It wasn't my...That I should've left it alone. Booth... I don't know what...what was he talking about?...Parker... Booth it's me...It's my fault." Her words were split and her voice had lost the familiar passion behind it. Her lost eyes looked at him then turned away. He thought he saw shame in them.

This wasn't his Bones. This was a petrified shell of the woman he knew. Now he fully understood. This is what she was afraid of. This was why she took so long to let someone in. She was so fragile and vulnerable. Booth hated her parents for leaving her even though he knew that they did it to save her. He knew what was coming next. She would clam up and sink within herself keeping her emotions hidden. He needed his Bones not this shell or the walled up person he knew she would become.

"Bones. It's not your fault. None of this is your fault. It's that man. This is his fault. Don't let him get to you. Don't let yourself believe what he said or he wins. Bones do you want him to win?" Booth's voice was firm and it got her attention.

She looked up at him her eyes filled with tears. "No." Her voice was a little stronger and the word was clear.

"No. Then you have to be strong. You have to help me so we can make sure this guy gets the blame and punishment. We need to find Parker and I need you. I need you to help me through this. Bones you're the smart one. You're my brain and I need help."

Brennan looked into his eyes and nodded. It wasn't strong, but it was enough.

"OK, first tell me about the skeleton."

"It's fake." She had know that as soon as she looked at it, but the sight had still been terrifying.

"That's good. Now, stay here and I'll be right back. I'm going to call the FBI." Booth stood and headed towards the phone.

"No!" It was the loudest thing she'd said and it surprised Booth.

"What?" He turned to look at her.

Her terrified eyes begged him to listen. "No. The caller said no FBI." She stood and collecting herself she moved towards Parker's room. "We need evidence."

"Bones, wait," Booth ran after her and stopped her from entering the room, "Let me go first."

Cautiously he entered the room and headed straight towards the skeleton and the two little black boxes. He could feel Brennan's breath on the back of his neck as he got closer to the items. He wasn't sure what they were and he didn't want to touch them just in case the kidnapper had left fingerprints. He could tell that they weren't bombs. One looked almost like some kind of speaker and he could tell the other was a recording device.

Using the sheets on the bed to cover his hand Booth picked up the recorder and examined the screen. It read: _Lost Signal_. He turned the device over and saw the play button on the side. He paused and looked at Brennan not sure what was on the device. She was upset enough as it was. Her eyes left the device and he saw the determination and didn't even have to ask if she could handle it.

He swallowed hard and pressed play afraid of what he might hear. Parker's voice came through the speaker, "Ok, sounds good." His voice was solid, but Booth could detect the slight fear that was there too. Just as Booth was about to turn the recorder off it continued, "Yeah, one second." Parker's voice sounded again.

"I think I know what might have happened." Booth's voice cracked as he finished. "I went downstairs for just a minute to get something out of the car. Parker was doing homework when I left so I didn't even think to check and make sure he was still there. You know him," Booth paused as he saw Bones nod and then he sat down with his bad against the bed and looked at the ground. Continuing, "Then I was on the phone with you and after I hung up I asked Parker if he wanted spaghetti and he said 'Ok, sounds good'. It sounded like he was actually there. Oh, god!" Booth buried his head in his hands.

"Booth it's not your fault," Brennan slide down next to him on the floor. "We should just look for evidence like we would during any other case. You can interview the neighbors and I'll look around in here. We are going to find him." Brennan's voice gained strength as she spoke.

Booth got up and reached down to help her. Taking his hand she looked into his eyes. It had been so long since she had seen that much sadness there. They needed to find Parker. He left the room and she watched him go.

Sighing she turned back towards the room and began searching for something to lead them to Parker. Alone with her thoughts in the boy's room Brennan suddenly remembered the new she'd received earlier in the day.

On top of everything that had happened there was no way she could tell him. She was going to tell him tonight after Parker was asleep, but now she couldn't She couldn't do that to him. It would have to wait till after they got Parker back. She wasn't sure how long she could keep this from him. She needed to tell someone and if not him then she would tell Angela.

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**So how was it? Any guesses as to what the news is going to be? You won't find out for a little while since more needs to happen before Brennan goes to the lab.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Ok so I wrote this Chapter in like an hour and a half because I really felt like writing. And I might not be able to update till Friday so I felt like putting another one up this weekend. Also, I am guessing that this story will be like twenty to thirty chapters long but since I've never really written anything besides academic papers and short stories I'm not really sure. **

**Oh, btw just in case your curious this is supposed to be taking place in around what would be like season 7 and Booth and Brennan have only been married for a little while. I was going off the assumption that Parker was like nine or ten in season 5 so now he is twelve. This is another short chapter but Enjoy!**

**I don't own Bones. **

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Chapter 3

Darkness surrounded Parker when he woke up. He couldn't move his hands apart, his arm stung, and the side of his head throbbed. Fear shot through him. He knew immediately knew that he wasn't home anymore. Parker tried to sit up, but there was something right above him.

The jerking movement of were he was held told Parker could tell that he was in some type of vehicle. He could hear the noises of cars and he could smell the exhaust. _Stay calm. Dad said that being crazy makes them angrier. Plus, Bones will find me. After all she is a genius._

To stay calm Parker took deep breaths and focused on trying to make out what song was playing on the radio. After a couple of songs he was getting anxious. Then all of a sudden the car slowed and he could hear they change in the type of street. Now there was loose asphalt hitting the tires instead of the smooth ride of the highway.

Parker groaned as he was thrown around the trunk on the bumpy road. His head hurt and with every lurch he would land in a less comfortable position. Finally the car began to slow.

Parker gulped. _Ok, if the guy is small or looks weak and is unarmed then maybe I should try and knock him over and run. _Parker was tall and strong for twelve. He had his father to thank for that. They played football all the time and he had a good arm.

Parker's hopes were crushed as soon as he saw the man who opened the trunk. It was dark outside and so his eyes adjusted quickly to the faint light. The man who opened the truck was big. Not only was the man over six feet tall, but also solid. There was no way Parker could knock this guy over especially without the use of his hands. The man's eyes were dark brown and menacing. He had the short hair that Parker always associated with men in the army. Otherwise from what Parker saw he could be anybody.

The man pulled a gun from his waist band with one hand and hauled Parker out of the trunk with the other. Parker's legs were completely fine and he knew he could run. The only problem was the gun and the that the man held onto his arm with an iron fist.

For some reason Parker's mind flashed back to a conversation he had had with his dad.

***

_Parker had missed his bus and knew that his dad and Bones were on a stakeout so he couldn't call them. He had money with him so Parker decided to use a taxi instead. He knew that if his Dad found out he would be in big trouble, but he didn't want to wait hours at school and he didn't know what else to do._

_When he got home his Dad was standing by the door. _

"_Parker." his father had said sternly as soon as he had entered the apartment._

"_Yeah Dad." Parker had replied quietly knowing that he was in trouble._

"_Did you take a cab home from school? You know you're not supposed to do that!" Parker cowered slightly at the sound of the anger in his Dad's voice._

"_Dad, I missed the bus and you and Bones were working on some stakeout or something. I didn't want to screw it up by calling. I just-"_

"_You just what? You should've called no matter what. If not us then Angela or Cam. You should've told someone. We had no idea where you were!"_

"_I'm sorry. I just didn't want to mess you guys up and I don't know anyone else's number." Parker said quietly._

"_I just don't want you to do something that'll get you hurt. There are weird people out there and its not safe to be taking cabs alone when your just eleven! If anything happened to you your mother would kill me then Bones would be finding my skeleton."_

"_I won't do it again. I swear."_

"_And a Booth never breaks a promise. Right?"_

"_Right. I'll call Angela or Cam next time so that I don't get hurt."_

"_Right because if you got hurt I'd have to kill you."_

***

That was one of the only times his Dad had ever really gotten mad at him. Parker knew that his dad would kill him if he went and got himself shot. In fact he was sure his Dad was already going to kill him for getting kidnapped in the first place. Really it wasn't his fault.

Suddenly the man was dragging him towards a big gray building. Parker stumbled after him trying to stay on his feet.

When the man stopped at the door Parker asked him, "Why did you take me?"

The man turned. He seemed surprised and slightly amused by the question. "Because your new mother can't leave things alone. She can't stay out of things that don't concern her and then there's the fact that she's loaded."

"What did she do to you?" Parker asked. He knew that you were supposed to keep the kidnapper distracted so that they wouldn't hurt you. Or maybe that was negotiation. He couldn't remember he just thought it was better if the man was talking instead of hurting him.

"She's looking into things best left alone that's what. Just, shut up your the ransom and so I won't hurt you unless you get on my nerves and this questioning is starting to bug me." The man growled and shoved him into the building pushing him past rows of boxes.

Parker immediately shut up. His head hurt enough as it was and he didn't want that man to hit him anymore. One of his arms hurt really bad too. They arrived at a cage in the back corner of the building. The man pulled him into it and chained his feet to the back wall and then unbound his hands.

"Hope you like your new room." The man said and then walked towards a table in the back of the cage.

Parker looked at his left arm and knew why it hurt so bad. There was a huge bruise covering his forearm and whenever he touched it he winced. He had seen a broken arm before. He never thought this is what it would feel like. He wouldn't let himself cry. He knew that neither his Dad nor Bones would cry from something like this.

"You just feeling the arm? I figured the chemicals would wear off sooner. Well, I also thought you would wake up sooner." The man said with a shrug as he walked over holding a heavy pair of handcuffs.

He grabbed Parker's arms and locked the cuffs around his wrists. Then he connected them to the short chain that came off the cuffs on his ankles. The rough movement caused Parker to gasp as pain shot from his arm. The man laughed quietly then turned and walked towards the door.

"How long?" Parker said weakly through the pain.

"What?" The man asked.

"How long am I going to be here?" Parker clarified once again grimacing with the pain.

"That depends on your parents and didn't I say no more questions?"

Parker swallowed as the man walked back over to the table in the corner. _You idiot. You should've stayed quiet. _The man turned and his fist slammed into the side of Parker's head. His vision blurred and he fell over. Then he felt the man on him. Something was forced into his mouth causing him to gag. It tasted terrible and Parker tried to spit it out but it was tied around his head tightly. Once more the man's fist flew into his head and Parker's vision turned black as he collapsed the rest of the way to the cold concrete floor.

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**Thoughts? I wasn't sure about the flashback in the middle, but I felt like Booth would probably say that he would kill Parker if he got hurt and that was the first idea that came to mind cause I couldn't think of a good way to get a ten year old in a situation were he could have gotten hurt or kidnapped. **

**Anyway I'd really like to know: How is my first fanfiction so far?**


	4. Chapter 4

**Ok, so I think it gets better near the end, but that's just me and once again I apologize for any grammar mistakes that make things unclear. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bones : (**

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Chapter 4

Booth reluctantly left the bedroom. He didn't want to leave Bones behind. Not there. Not anywhere. He knew she needed space. That was her way of dealing. Bottle it up and hide it away until booth comes and finds it, but he needed the smell of her next to him. It gave him strength. Whenever he was having a bad day all he had to do was see her. Take in her smell and everything was alright. That wasn't the only thing making it hard for him to focus.

He couldn't stop thinking about parker and what he might be going through. He remembered all the things that had been done to him and his brain was showing the same things happening to Parker. Then there was everything that Bones had said about it being her fault. As soon as he interviewed their neighbors he would head to the FBI and pull files.

Anything they had. Family members of people they arrested, criminals that had gotten free, people that might have felt Temperance hadn't been nice to them, he would find anyone who had any reason to hurt her. He knew she would get mad when he asked her about her past, but he had to. It could be a crazy ex-boyfriend, someone she proved wrong, or even one of her foster parents. He needed to know. Then there was the current case they were working on.

Pushing it out of his mind he knocked on their neighbors door. He needed to focus so he could catch every detail and figure out what had happened.

"Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Dodd"

"Hello Mr. Booth. We thought we heard a scream and we were about tocheck it out. Is everything alright?" Mrs. Dodd said with a worried look on her face.

He didn't know them well at all but he had met them several times and they had definitely seemed like nice people. They were an older couple. He guessed they were in their early sixties and he knew they had two adult children that lived out of state. He could tell Mrs. Dodd dyed her hair because the roots of her brown hair were gray. She was around average height and appeared to be in great shape for her age. Mr. Dodd was a little shorter than Booth and his hair was short and gray. Booth knew him better than the Mrs. They had spent some time talking since the man had also been in the army. He seemed like he was still active even though the man had been shot in the leg and it had caused permanent damage. Booth had great respect for the man and knew him better than the rest of their neighbors. He felt most comfortable talking to them.

"Well, actually no. My son has been...kidnapped. It happened earlier today. Around forty five minutes ago," Booth paused it had taken him half a hour to realize that his son was gone. Swallowing he continued, "I went down to the car to get some things and when I came back up I didn't even think to check on him cause I figured he was in his room like he always is. Then my wife called me and I started on dinner. She came home and that's when we found out. That was what the scream was. Do you remember hearing anything from our apartment about forty-five minutes ago?" It took all of Booth's strength and control to keep his voice steady as he said it.

"Actually saw rather than heard. I was leaving to pick up some dinner at around that time and there were two men standing outside your apartment. They were wearing repair man uniforms so I didn't think anything of it." Mr. Dodd said.

"Would you be able to describe them for me?" Hope filled Booth's voice at the words from the older man.

"I didn't get a good look, but I'd be willing to try."

"Thank you! I'll send our artist over as soon as I can." Booth energetically called out as he ran back towards his own apartment.

Temperance had been looking at the skeleton for some time. She knew it wasn't real, but she didn't understand why the kidnappers would leave it there.

When he got back to Parker's room Bones was still there. She was looking at the skeleton and spun when she heard him come in. Booth could tell that she had been crying. There was hope in her eyes and the fear and worry that had been there before was gone. When Booth saw it he smiled despite everything that had happened.

"What is it?" Booth asked.

"There are particulates We on the skeleton and on the ground. Looks like there might be some blood on the recorder too. We are going to need to take the skeleton and the recorder to the lab. Hodgins will be able to tell us about the particulates." Booth nodded.

"We are going to need Ange as well because Mr. Dodd saw men outside our apartment."

"I'll call them and tell them to come here." Bones said as she left the room."

"Wait!" Booth ran after her. "Didn't the man say not to get any help?" Booth asked. He was frantic thinking about the fact that one call might end Parker's life.

"It just said no law enforcement so we just don't tell Sweets or anyone at the bureau. " Bones said as she continued towards the phone. The hope in her voice was clear. Booth knew that Bones loved Parker, but he could sense that there was something else behind it too.

"Are you sure this guy will recognize the difference between law enforcement and the Squints? We don't want to do anything that could get him hurt." He articulated the words making sure she would listen and note his concern.

"You say that like it's something I didn't already know. Booth we have to find him. He chances of him coming back alive even if we pay the ransom and do everything they ask are low. Plus, we don't know what they want yet so how do we know we will be able to give it to them. We don't! So we need to be working on finding him on our own. To do that we need Angela and Hodgins." Temperance's voice got loader the farther she got into her declaration. "Booth there is no other way. That skeleton. I think I figured out what it means. There is marking on the right ulna and a hole through the lambodial suture. It's a copy of one of the skeletons at the Jeffersonian. That's what they want. Even if we give it to them we won't ever figure out who did it!"

As she spoke she realized how similar it was to when Booth had been kidnapped. The gravedigger had wanted evidence and she was willing to give it up because the evidence would never have led to the killer. Hodgins had had the evidence for a long time and they hadn't found anything. This was different. They had the evidence from the body. It was new evidence and could lead them to Parker and the killer. There was evidence on the fake skeleton as well. They had more to go on and she needed to find the person who did this to Parker. She needed more than to get him back. She needed to punish the person that did this to her. That took her son.

"Now you're the one talking like I don't know! I've been working for the FBI a long time. I've been through this before. I know the chances aren't high but they're higher if we do what they want then if we do what they told us not to. We don't need to know who did it as long as we get Parker back. Do you think I cared about catching the Gravedigger when he took you and Hodgins? I wanted to catch him. I wanted to catch him and hurt him for what he did to you! That didn't matter though because all that mattered was getting you back!" Booth's voice rose in response to Temperance's outburst. "I loved you even then and I was willing to do anything to get you back. I was willing to let the killer walk!"

"You never had to give up evidence for me and Hodgins! This is different. Plus, I know you cared. I know part of you needed to find us so that you would have more evidence to find the person who took me. Part of you needed to find us because you needed us to find the killer! Hodgins needed to find the killer and so did you! Guess what I guess I'm the same! I need to find the person that took Parker. Especially since it is at least partly my fault. Booth we don't know what they are going to demand! We don't know if we can do it so we need to be working on a separate plan! If they demand something else. Something they think we have but we really don't then we need another way to get him back. I know you don't want to think about that since he's your son, but what if they aren't actually planning on giving him back? What then Booth?" Her voice was cracking with rage and desperation.

As she stared into his eyes Booth saw the anger. He saw that it was directed at him. He had pushed her into letting out her emotions and now she was aiming it all at him. He didn't care because he believed that she wasn't actually blaming him. He believed that this was all just part of who she was.

Booth had been about to launch into a counter attack, but after her her last couple sentences he settles with two words, "_Our _son." He said it firmly, but not loud or angry. He stared her in the eyes and watched as confusion mixed with rage. She had been expecting a fight.

"What?" Shocked and throw off that was all Temperance could muster.

"You said 'since he's your son,' but he's our son and I have thought about it. I've thought about all the things they could have done to him. I've thought about all the ways we might see him and find him. I've thought about it and I don't care as long as we get him back." It wasn't an angry speech. He didn't even emphasize it. It was the truth so as long as she looked at his eyes he didn't need to.

His eyes said it all. Temperance had never been good at reading people. At times she couldn't read Booth at all. For a long time she had missed or ignored the loving stares he would give her. This time she couldn't ignore anything in his eyes. This time she could see everything.

Temperance was frozen by the look. Booth's eyes were full of pain. She could see that he was hurt by what she had said. The fact that she had said your instead of our. She hadn't meant it. She could feel her cheeks burn as she thought about what she had done. They were supposed to be a family and she hadn't called Parker her son. She wasn't sure why she had said your. It wasn't like it was something new. She had been calling Parker her son since they got married. Then as she stared at his eyes she noticed more. He knew her better than she knew herself and the understanding in his eyes told her that he knew why she had said it. Despair over what could be happening or had happened to Parker flooded the room. She could almost feel the pain he was going through. She understood him and knew what he had pictured she didn't know what it felt like, but she could imagine. The most unnerving thing in his eyes was the guilt. It took her a while to place it. When she did she almost wished she hadn't.

He felt like it was his fault. He blamed himself. He believed that he was a bad father and that is what had caused Parker to be taken. She understood that. She felt terrible too. Temperance thought that her job had caused it. The worst part of the guilt was that Booth felt that he was the reason she had said your. He thought that he had failed at making them a family. That he had kept Parker as his and still connected Parker with Rebecca. That he believed Rebecca was more important and more of a mother to Parker than she was. That was the worst of it.

His chocolate brown eyes bore into her and when she realized what they were saying her legs got weak. Temperance looked away. She started breathing faster and she stumbled towards the couch. She collapsed on it just as the headaches started.

"Booth. I..I didn't mean it. I know you've thought about it. I have too and he's our son. Ours." Temperance's voice was weak and she couldn't look at him. Holding her head in her hands she tried to ignore the throbbing that was starting. _No. Not now! _The pounding intensified and she began to feel nauseous.

"I know. I know you didn't mean it. Thinking things like that is your way of distancing yourself. It's just. It hurt that's all. We will call them. We will work to figure out who did this until we have to give the evidence up. Then we will since he's our son. We will do both. We will catch them and save Parker." His voice was comforting and he walked over to the couch as he said it. He sat down next to her and put his arms around her.

She knew he meant it and she trusted him. Leaning into his arms she tried to fight back the throbbing and the nausea. His soft mumbling helped. They sat there for a while. She couldn't move or she would throw up and cry out in pain. Finally she couldn't take it and she pulled herself out of his embrace and ran to the bathroom.

The throbbing began to lessen as soon as she had thrown-up. She knew it would. It always did. It never really went away. It took hours for it to slow long enough to actually think straight. Normally this only happened in the mornings and then the medicine made it so she was able to think by the time they got to the lab. She wasn't sure how much longer she could take this or how much longer she could keep it from Booth.

Just as she thought his name Booth appeared in the doorway. "Hodgins and Angela are on their way over."

All she could do was nod in response. She didn't trust her voice. She wanted to tell him so bad that she was afraid it would slip out it she spoke at all. She needed him, but she couldn't tell him. It would just make things worse. _Hurry Angela!_

Something was wrong. Booth could tell there was something she wasn't telling him. It was killing him not knowing. Not knowing how to help her. The fact that it was something she wasn't willing to tell him made it worse. For now he would just try and comfort her like he always had.

Booth slid to the floor next to her and pulled her to him. He would hold her and wait for Angela and Hodgins to get here. There was nothing else he could do. Both the people he loved were being pulled from him. He was lost and alone. All he could do was hold on to Temperance in the hope that she would come back to him and tell him what was wrong.

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**Thoughts?**

**I think I'll say what Brennan's new is next chapter. Unless I feel like being mean and dragging it out. Anyway I think I will probably have Chapter 5 done by Thursday night (late probably) or Friday morning. **


	5. Chapter 5

**C****hapter 5 yeah! So the news is in this chapter. I was tempted to split this into two chapters, but decided that I didn't want to delay the news any longer. Also, some of the paragraphs overlap because at some parts the each paragraph is kinda a different person's feelings on the situation. Anyway, hope its good!**

**Oh, and I don't own Bones.**

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Chapter 5

When the doorbell finally rang Booth nearly jumped out of his skin. It had been hours since he had slept, and had begun to doze off with Bones in his arms. He looked down at her and saw that she was sweating slightly. It didn't take a medical degree to know that there was something very wrong with her. However, her eyes were closed and from what he could tell she was sleeping. He counted this as a good thing. She would need all the sleep she could get. However, the sleep would have to wait till another time. Gently he shook her shoulders, "Bones," he murmured softly in her ear.

Darkness had engulfed Temperance as she tried to block out the mind-numbing headaches. Sleep had always helped in the past. The headaches would hinder her ability to rationalize and to help save Parker. The throbbing was just starting to diminish when she felt Booth's body move away, then she felt his hands on her shoulders. She tried to open her eyes, but the throbbing was making it extremely difficult.

Loud knocks quickly followed the doorbell and Booth was torn between staying with Bones and letting their friends in. He decided Hodgins and Angela could wait till he was sure she was awake and ok. Bones was muttering and he could see her eyelids flickering. Finally he heard her groan and her eyes opened wide.

It took Booth less than a second to see the exhaustion in her eyes. She was worn out from something. She was more tired now then before she had fallen asleep. It was then that he realized neither of them had eaten in hours. On top of everything that had happened they were now both starved and only half-awake. He was going to have to force her to sleep and eat at some point. She would get careless otherwise and he definitely didn't want that.

Again loud knocking pulled his eyes from Temperance's. He stood and offered her his hand. She took it gladly and he pulled her to her feet As soon as she was standing he put one of his arms around her waist to help support her. Normally she would have objected, but in her tired state he doubted whether or not she even noticed.

Temperance had barely heard her name over the pounding in her skull. She had been content to ignore it, but Booth's incessant shaking had been too much. She had forced her eyes opened and taken the hand Booth offered. As soon as she was up, Temperance was afraid she wouldn't be able to stay standing. She breathed an internal sigh of relief when she felt Booth's strong arm around her waist.

By the time they reached the door Temperance had woken up enough to stand well enough on her own. She didn't want Angela seeing her about to keel over. The headache had also somewhat lessened. It wasn't much, but it was enough to allow her brain to start functioning again.

Before opening the door, Booth turned to Temperance, "Bones," it was almost a whisper. Hesitantly, he continued, "I didn't tell them. I thought that it would be better to say it in person." She could tell that he was uneasy and she saw his eyes watching her closely to gauge her reaction.

She smiled slightly, "That's probably good. Angela would have gotten herself killed by speeding the whole way here if she knew." Her voice matched his quiet tone.

Nodding Booth turned back to the door and the confrontation he knew they were about to have with their friends. Booth pulled the door open just as Hodgins arm was about to hit the wooden surface and beat another rhythm. Hodgins and Angela immediately pushed past Booth and Brennan and into the room.

Turning, Angela saw the looks on their faces and knew immediately that something terrible had happened. When she looked at Temperance she saw something else. Brennan had never been very good at sending non-verbal messages, but Angela could read this one clear as day. It screamed of desperation and relief. She knew her friend well enough to know that there was something Temperance needed to get off her chest.

Knowing the two figure by the door weren't going to start and knowing it was urgent, Angela went straight to the point, "Tell me right now, what happened?" Her voice wasn't asking. She was demanding and if they didn't start talking soon then she would beat the answers out of them.

Booth didn't even have to look at Temperance to know that she would want him to tell the two people waiting anxiously in the center of the room the news. He did it anyway just in case. Temperance met his gaze and walked silently over to the couch and collapsed there.

It was rare for Booth to be unsure of himself, but as he began it was clear to everyone that what he had to say was going to be very hard for him. "I left the apartment earlier today to get some things from the car. Parker was in his room doing homework. Later, Bones called me and told me she was coming home. A little after our conversation she received another phone call." Booth stopped for a second before deciding that getting it all out fast would be better. It was a computerized voice," Hodgins visibly stiffened as Booth spoke.

Angela's eyes flickered between Booth and Temperance as he spoke. The farther he got the more she watched her friend with growing concern. Temperance had not moved a muscle. Angela couldn't see her face, but she thought she glimpsed something shining on her friend's cheek. Quietly, Angela began to move towards the couch as Booth continue.

"I didn't learn about the call till Bones got home. She ran in and came straight to the kitchen. She told me that the voice had said something would be missing when she got home, and that she shouldn't call the authorities," the pain just speaking was causing him was clear. " I was still here and Parker was in his room doing homework so I figured it was a prank call or something. I was planning on checking into the number when I got to Hoover tomorrow," Booth's was almost whispering now.

Hodgins hadn't moved since Booth had mentioned the call. He was listening, but at the same time he was lost in the past. Jack was remembering his time in the car with Brennan. The pain from being hit by the car, but mostly just what it was like. Being buried alive with next to no hope of ever being found. His mind was reeling from all the possibilities, but he forced himself to listen.

At this point Angela wasn't sure exactly what to think. They were both here, which was a good sign, but she couldn't shake the feeling it had to be something even worse. She thought about Cam, Sweets, and finally Zach. She knew that Zach was safe unless he had decided to escape on his own, but she hadn't heard from Cam or Sweets since leaving the lab.

Cam and Sweets had both become part of the team. They never really admitted to Sweets that he was part of their weird family, but she had a feeling the psychologist had already figured it out on his own. None of them had really liked the pathologist or the psychologist when they had first been brought on, but now she didn't want anything bad to happen to either of them.

Booth knew he had to finish. If he didn't, then Bones would have to and he couldn't do that to her. "Then Bones went to get Parker and," his voice was coloured with so much emotion that Angela though he was about to explode. "He wasn't there."

Angela had been expecting something bad. They wouldn't have been called if it was just a prank, but this was terrible. It was worse than she thought it could ever be. Booth and Brennan were finally together. Finally an official family. To have this happen must be devastating to both of them. She knew Booth would just want to get his son back and later smash their heads in. Causing physical pain to criminals was his way of dealing. She wasn't sure about Brennan. Her friend had been through a lot, but losing a child was different.

Angela sat down next to Temperance and tried to see her face better. Now, there was no mistaking the shiny substance leaving lines on her face. If it had been for something else Angela would have been proud. Proud that the cold-hearted Dr. Temperance Brennan was showing them the emotions she normally kept bottled inside.

Hodgins' blue eyes demanded Booth's attention. "What can we do?" Hodgins inquired. He was all business in tone and demeanor, but Angela could see his true emotions. He was trying to be as together and strong as he could for the couple in anguish. He was very concerned for the boy. Parker had come to the lab often and Jack always loved doing exciting experiments with Parker.

They all turned when Temperance muttered her first words since Angela and Hodgins had arrived, "There's a skeleton, recording device, and speakers in his room." Her eyes never left the floor as she spoke. She knew that if she were to look up and see the looks on the faces around her she would crack. It was already bad enough with her eyes overflowing with tears and the pounding in her head.

Angela looked at Booth meaningfully. She was glad he was good at reading people because she couldn't say what she wanted to out loud. She needed him to leave. To go with Hodgins so that she could talk to Brennan alone. The look she shot him said just that.

Booth was watching his motionless wife on the couch when his eyes were jerked towards Angela. He had felt the intense gaze she was giving him and couldn't ignore it. Booth meet the artist's eyes and immediately understood what she was asking of him. If it helped Bones open up about was was going on with her so that maybe she would tell him too, he was happy to oblige. "Hodgins this way." His steely voice gave away none of the unspoken conversation he and Angela had shared or the hope it gave him that Bones would open up to him.

He found her so damn frustrating at times. Her need to be independent was one of the things that made her the person he loved, but sometimes she took it too far. She needed to understand that he wanted to help her and that she didn't need to go through things alone to prove she was strong. Booth needed her to learn that letting people help didn't make you weak.

Booth motioned for Hodgins to follow him and he left the room. He glanced back once before the couch disappeared from his view. Bones was looking up at Angela and was clearly about to tell her something. Something he desperately wanted to hear.

***

As he entered the room once again, Booth was glad he had the shorter blue-eyed man next to him. Although lacking physical size Hodgins had a presence that was strangely comforting. He had never directly admitted to being great friends with the man or to how much he enjoyed the scientis's company when surrounded by all the ladies of the lab.

Sweets had helped him and he considered the young man his friend, but not in the same way as Hodgins. Although they disagreed on many fronts the both cared strongly for their respective women and passions. He felt like he truly understood the man.

Booth watched as Jack pulled on latex gloves and moved towards the items on the bed. He had brought evidence bags with him even though none of the items were going to be logged in an official database. Booth didn't want their sudden appearance on the system to cause any sort of search by the FBI forensics and evidence storage units.

Hodgins focused on what he knew best in order to drown out all the voices in his head. As soon as he and Booth entered the room he took in the skeleton and electronic items and began to work. He started with the smaller objects. He carefully lifted them and placed each piece of the device into separate bags. Angela could look up the model when the got to the Jeffersonian. Then he turned his attention to the skeleton. He wasn't sure how they planned on getting the thing to the Jeffersonian unnoticed, but he trusted Booth to come up with something.

Just as he was about to ask Booth about the skeleton Hodgins noticed something on the bed sheet. Looking closer he saw that is was a small drop of blood. As long as the blood wasn't Parker's, this was a good sign. He told Booth they would need a way to get the skeleton out then they needed to bag the comforter. The tall figure watching him simply nodded.

They weren't going to find any particulates on the ground. At least, not any that weren't compromised. Any footprints would have particulates from Parker's shoes, as well as any that Booth and Brennan had added when they entered the room. Even though he didn't think there was much else he could do until he got back to the lab he had to try. He scoured the room from top to bottom looking for anything that the kidnapper could have done that would leave a trace.

Booth was glad that Hodgins didn't speak. He didn't want comforting words. He knew them all and he knew how little they helped. The calm that Hodgins seemed to be emitting was definitely having an effect on Booth. As he watched the man do his job with as much care as always, if not more, it gave him a sense of security. They were the best scientists around and they always found something. Reassuring himself with the thought Booth tried to focus on Hodgins instead of his wife sitting on the couch with Angela.

***

Angela waited for her friend to start. She knew it wasn't good to push her into things to fast. At least not emotional things. Angela just sat pretending to be the image of patience when really her desire to know what was troubling Brennan gnawed at her.

As soon as Booth was out of sight Temperance collected herself. What she had to say would shock Angela. Angela would demand to tell Booth and would reprimand her for not telling him sooner. It was to late to turn back though and sighing she began, "Ange, you have to promise me that you won't tell anyone what I'm about to tell you. You need to promise me that you won't interrupt, just wait till I'm finished. Please," the desperation in her voice was clear.

"I promise," it was firm and solid. Angela was half-tempted to raise her hand as she said it, but now wasn't the time. Now was the time to listen.

Brennan started slowly, her words barely more than a mumble, "You know how I've been getting headaches a lot in the mornings," It wasn't really a question, but Angela nodded her head anyways. "Well, at first I just got some medicine from my doctor, and it got better for a little. Lately though its just been getting worse and when I wake up my head just won't stop throbbing. Then there is the sickness," Angela kept the shock from her eyes. She had know about the headaches for a while now, but the nausea was something new. Brennan hesitated a second before glancing at her friend and beginning again,"I went to the doctor yesterday, and when I told him about it he took some blood samples. I haven't gotten the results from those back yet, but he also sent me to a radiologist."

It took a second for Brennan's words to sink in. This wasn't at all what she had been expecting to hear. She desperately wanted to interrogate Brennan about what the results were, but she held true to her promise and kept silent.

Brennan was glad that Angela didn't speak and decided not to give her the chance. Brennan's voice was wavering and Angela had to strain to hear her as she whispered, "They ran a CT scan and found that I have a brain tumor."

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**Don't worry I'll give more details about the tumor in the next chapter. So thoughts, suggestions, advice, anything?**


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry I didn't update as much over this past weekend. My bro got his eagle scout, my other bro came home for the weekend, and then there was Valentine's Day and the Olympics. Anyway, here's Chapter 6. **

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Chapter 6

Angela's mind was racing. _A brain tumor. The same day her son was kidnapped. Oh, god Bren! And Booth doesn't know! _Her thoughts had just started, but they were interrupted by Brennan's voice.

"It's benign. They're confident that it is curable. They are going to surgically remove it and because of the type it is they say there is almost no chance it would come back. The tumor has been causing the headaches and the nausea. That's were I was today when I left the lab. I didn't tell Booth because if it was nothing then I didn't want him to worry. Now, with everything that has happened there is no way I can tell him." She was just rambling now. Her voice was strained and she was talking fast.

Angela put her hand on Brennan's arm to stop her. Firmly, but softly Angela whispered, "Sweetie you have to tell him."

Brennan looked away and when she turned back her eyes were wet. She almost sounded like she was begging as she mumbled, "Why? It can wait. I'm not scheduled to have surgery until Saturday. I'm supposed to go in Friday for pre-op and other checks."

Angela saw that Brennan hadn't started crying yet. As she watched her friend she thought about what this must be like. Her whole life was falling apart in a matter of hours. Angel knew she would be in pieces if this had happened to her. Brennan really was amazing. Brennan's ability to compartmentalize always unnerved Angela a little, but now she saw how much it helped her friend.

Angela turned a little more so that she would catch Brennan's eyes. Booth needed to know and Angela wasn't the one to tell him. Brennan needed to so Angela's voice was firm and almost demanding as she reminded Brennan, "He's your husband. He cares about you and he deserves to know. He would do anything for you. He would tell you."

Her desperate reply was almost angry, "He didn't tell me when he had his. I just happened to be there. It's because he cares that I can't tell him." Her head hung and her voice lowered again as she continued, "He would try to do something about it and he can't and with Parker being taken it would be to much that he couldn't do. He would need to be able to act and there is no physical fight this time. Ange, there is nothing he can do."

Now Angela was in full quarrel mode ready for Brennan to argue her when she said, "He told you about seeing things. He trusted you enough to tell you even if it made him sound crazy. Booth doesn't always need something to hit. He would understand. He could help you deal emotionally and mentally."

"I don't ned help," Brennan was angry now and her eyes were beginning to dry as she nearly growled the words.

Angela softened once again as she questioned, "Hon, ever think that maybe Booth needs to help you?"

"He can't. He's not a neurosurgeon," Brennan stated plainly.

Angela was getting fed up with her friend, but she understood and remained as calm as she could, "Bren, come on. Think about it. When Booth had his tumor what did you want to do?"

Brennan was quiet for a long time. Finally she gave a resigned whisper, "I wanted to do something to help. Anything, but there was nothing I could do."

Now Angela was the one who sounded like she was begging. Begging for Brennan to understand, "You did do something. You were there for him. You went into the room with him, you let him know that you cared and that you weren't going to let him out of you sight. He wanted your help even though you aren't a neurosurgeon."

Angela waited a long time for Brennan's reply. It was taking so long that Angela was about ti say something. When Brennan finally spoke her voice was so quiet Angela wasn't sure she heard everything, "I know. I just don't want him to have to worry about me right now. I was going to tell him. I want him to be with me, but I just can't do that to him."

"I think Booth would rather know even with everything that has happened," Angela's previous exasperation at her friend had vanished and she matched Brennan's quiet voice with her own.

Brennan had started crying silently. She turned her tear-streaked face towards Angela and the desperation in Brennan's eyes almost broke Angela's heart. "Ange please don't tell him," she was full out begging now.

Angela pulled Brennan into a hug. Holding Brennan, Angela spoke softly into her Brenna's ear, "I won't, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to try and make you tell him." She pulled away slightly, just so she could see her friend's eyes, "Don't you think that he'll notice the headaches and sickness? Won't it be worse for him if he has to watch you suffer and not know why?"

Brennan responded by moving away slowly and meeting her friend's gaze, "Ange, I can't make him look after me and look for Parker. It's to much even for Booth. I'll tell him. I promise, just let it wait till we get Parker back."

"You don't know how long that will be and this can't wait long," Angela was trying to be the voice of reason, but also the friend that Brennan needed.

"I know. I'll tell him Friday no matter what happens," her voice had increased in strength and volume. Brennan had stopped crying and was wiping away her tears.

Angela responded in kind, "Fine."

Brennan was back to normal, her voice strong, confident, and full of reason, "Don't tell anyone else please. They might not understand or Booth might hear."

Angela nodded and knowing there was nothing she could say to make Brennan change her mind, she agreed, "Not a word until Friday, but if you haven't told Booth by then I'm going to. You know what will happen if he doesn't hear it from you-"

Brennan cut her off not wanted to hear more, "I know. Ange, please let's just get Parker back."

The anguish in Brennan's eyes were clear and now all she wanted to do was help, "Ya, ok what do you need me to do?"

Brennan was back to the technical scientist she was at the lab, "Mr. Dodd next door saw men outside our apartment. He's going to try and describe them to you."

Angela reached for her bag as she stood looking down at Brennan, "What are you going to be doing?"

Brennan stood and Angela swore she saw her friend's eyes go black for a second before answering, "I'm going to try and help Hodgins with the skeleton and evidence from the room."

Brennan began walking down the hallway towards hers son's room. Her head was held high and she walked confidently. Angela knew that Brennan's genius mind was whirling as it compartmentalized and worked through the matter at hand logically.

Angela called after Brennan before she could reach the room, "Bren, thanks." Brennan stopped and turned to face Angela. Angela had been following Brennan and when she met Brennan's eyes she continued, "I mean for telling me."

For a second Brennan's eyes looked like they were tearing up again, but then the moment passed and scientist Brennan looked back at Angela and nodded. Brennan turned back to the door, took a deep breath, and opened the door to her son's room.

Booth was standing alert in one corner of the room watching Hodgins. His eyes flashed to the door as soon as the handle was turned. As soon as he saw Bones he could tell she had been crying and he had to fight the urge to run over to her and just hold her. Angela looked directly at Hodgins and only looked fleetingly at Booth.

Brennan spoke before anyone else got a chance, "Booth, you and Angela should go ask Mr. Dodd what the men looked like so you do a sketch. Hodgins, you and I will get the evidence back to the lab."

Booth was shocked by her sudden change in behavior. He realized what she was doing and decided it would be best to simply go along with it. He looked at Angela and nodded, "Ok, Ange this way."

Ange cast a meaningful look at Brennan before turning and following Booth out of the room. She knew he was going to ask her what they had been talking about, and she was definitely not looking forward to it.

Booth didn't say anything. He was fighting himself. He wanted to ask Angela what she and Bones had talked about, but he knew that if Bones hadn't told him than without a doub she had told Angela not to tell him. He didn't want to force Angela to tell him anything that Bones didn't want him to know, but he could tell that Bones was in pain and he needed to help.

They had just reached the apartment door when Booth finally decided he had to ask, "Ange, what did you and Bones talk about?'

"Booth, I can't say. Please, let's just focus," It was the only thing she could say.

"I know something is wrong. Why won't she tell me?" Angela wasn't even sure Booth's question was directed at her. Booth was lost and distant.

"She will tell you when she's ready. Just be there for her," Angela's voice was kind and she touched his arm trying to reassure him.

"Doesn't she understand that I just want to help? That I love her and would do anything for her," he was desperate now.

Angela realized that this was worse than she thought. She couldn't tell him though. Hearing it from her instead of Brennan would be worse than him not knowing. Plus, now was not the time.

"She knows. The reason she's not telling you is because she loves you. Please Booth, just let it go for now. Take care of her, but don't push her. Standing here isn't doing anything to help anyone. Let's go so I can try and sketch these men. You should probably keep interviewing the neighbors or do something to keep busy since this is probably going to take a while," Angela's words we powerful and pulled Booth out of his thoughts.

"Yeah, Mr. Dodd lives right there. I'll come with you, but once you start I'll go interview more of the neighbors," Booth tried to shake off his fear and desperation as he spoke, but he knew Angela could here the traces that were there.

Booth knocked on the door and seconds later Mr. Dodd opened it. "Mr. Booth, Hello."

"Mr. Dodd. This is Angela. She's the forensic artist and she will be the one who draws a sketch of the men you saw," Booth was all business now.

"Hello," Angela greeted the older man and accepted his handshake.

"Hello. Come on in and I'll try my best to describe them," Mr. Dodd replied and he opened the door farther to allow them to enter.

Mr. Dodd sat on one of the chairs in the living room and motioned for Booth and Angela to sit as well. Angela complied and sitting down she began to pull a pad of paper and pencils from her bag.

Booth watched in silence as Mr. Dodd began to describe the men he had seen. Height, weight, hair color and style, and Angela even asked him to tell him what kind of feeling he got when he walked past. He caught Angela's eye for a second and silently slid out to interview the other neighbors.

Hodgins hadn't said a word since Angela and Dr. Brennan had entered. Now that Booth and Angela had left and the evidence was collected he wasn't sure what to do. Finally he realized that Dr. Brennan wasn't going to break the silence.

"Dr. Brennan, how are you planning to get the skeleton out?" He asked objectively knowing that she would appreciate his professionalism.

"It's held together by screws between each bone. If we separate it into smaller pieces than we could easily carry it out. If we put the whole thing in a bag it might be not only hard to carry, but also it might draw unwanted attention. I'm thinking each of us carrying part of it in our own bags might not be especially if you and Angela leave at a different time than Booth and I. Then we can put it in Limbo when we get to the lab. I can keep the interns from looking at it to closely and work down there with them. I'll reconstruct it and you can look for any more particulates before any one arrives for work," Brennan spoke as though this was any other crime scene even though her words made it clear that it wasn't.

"You really think that will work?" Hodgins asked with a note of incredulity in his voice.

"I don't know, but do you have a better idea?" It wasn't mean, just objective.

"No, I'll go find a screwdriver," came Hodgins resigned reply.

So an hour later Hodgins and Dr. Brennan had broken the skeleton into four groups. Luckily it wasn't as big as a adult skeleton and was closer to the size of a seven year old child so the pieces would easily fit into any decent sized bag. Hodgins would take one arm and a leg. Angela would take the other arm and leg. Booth would take the rib cage and sternum, and Brennan would take the skull, lower vertebrae, and pelvic bone.

At around the same time Angela finished her sketch and Booth gave up questioning the neighbors. They met in the living room as Angela and Hodgins were about to leave.

"We'll meet you guys back at the lab. I'll start to analyze the particulates as soon as I can," Hodgins said from the door.

"I'll start gathering all the files from previous cases so we can narrow down the people we have to compare my sketch to," Angela's voice seemed to be full of sadness and hope as she said it.

"Ok, we'll head to the lab fifteen minutes after you guys leave. That way if anyone is watching they might not make the connection," Booth replied as he stood by the door.

Then Angela and Hodgins were gone. Without them in the apartment it felt almost empty. The loss of Parker weighed even stringer on them. Brennan knew that Booth was hoping she would tell him that night, but looking at his face and feeling the loss and pain that the inability to do anything was causing, she decided against it. For the first time she was dreading being alone with Booth.

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**Please review!I love hearing your advice and thoughts!**


	7. Chapter 7

**History test tomorrow! Anyway, here's Chapter 7. I know it's a little short only slightly important plot wise, but its better than nothing.**

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Chapter 7

Parker lay in the room for what felt like days, but in reality was only a couple of hours for the man to come back. He had woken up with a terrible headache and the side of his face throbbed. Judging by the darkness in the building Parker guessed that the sun had gone down sometime while he was unconscious. He had tried to sleep figuring it would be best to keep his strength up, but he never could.

He was alone with just his thoughts and darkness. He wasn't sure how long he had been captured or if his parent's even knew yet. His memory of the events that led to his kidnapping were fuzzy, but he could remember some.

***

_He had been sitting in his room, doing homework. It was like any other day. Booth had picked him up after school and practice and then taken him home. Some days his Dad took him to the lab or the FBI building. Bones picked him up occasionally, and whenever she did they always went somewhere cool. Today, it had been his Dad and now he was home doing a project. _

_He thought for a second that Bones may have gotten home when he heard the door, but her voice didn't follow the sound so he knew it was just his Dad leaving to get something from the car. Parker returned to his work determined to get it done quickly so he could do something more fun later._

_He was interrupted by a knock on the door. Knowing he was the only one home he got up and headed towards the door Parker looked out of the little hole on the door and saw two men in repairmen outfits. He knew that their dishwasher hadn't been working properly, but was still surprised that his Dad had called a service instead of doing it himself. _

_He opened the door and noticed that one of the men was carrying a rather large, heavy bag. Knowing it's not polite to leave people standing at the door Parker let out a cheery, "Hello."_

"_Hello, is this the Booth residence?" one of the men replied with near equal cheeriness. _

"_Yes," Parker responded._

"_We are here to look into the problems you have been having with your dishwasher," the man said._

"_Sure, my Dad will be up soon, but come on in."_

_The men moved into the apartment and as soon as the door closed the second man had leapt at Parker. _

_Upon seeing the man coming towards him Parker had run towards his room. One of the men was blocking the front door. When he got to his room he had tried to open the window so he could climb down the fire escape. The window was just starting to budge when the man grabbed him. Parker lashed out at the man and he felt his foot connect with the mans jaw. It wasn't a hard kick, but it caused the man to bleed a little. The man returned the kick by hitting Parker hard on the head. His vision faded slightly, but he remained conscious. Then the other man was there and held a rag. The rag was pushed against his face and his world went black._

_***_

Parker knew his father was going to kill him for letting the men into the apartment without anyone else there, but he couldn't just ignore the door. Plus, the men might have broken in anyway for all he knew.

It was then that Parker realized that the man probably wouldn't be back till the morning. If he was going to try and escape now would be the time. He wasn't completely exhausted and he was only going to get weaker and beaten up more the longer he waited.

He wasn't sure how far he would be able to move, but he had to try something. He was lying on his side with his arms in front of him and his knees were bent and pulled up near his chest. Slowly Parker began by moving his feet away from his chest. He couldn't quite extend his legs fully unless he moved his hands as far down as possible. He positioned his legs underneath himself and used his good arm to push himself into a crouching position.

From there Parker crawled towards the table in the back of the room. When he got there he wasn't sure whether or not he would be able to stand. There was hardly any slack left in the chain that was attached to the back of the room. Deciding he had to at least try Parker rose to a somewhat upright position. He kept his back somewhat bent. He reached forward with his arms and was relieved when there was enough chain for him to touch the edge of the table.

In the darkness, Parker couldn't make out any of the objects on the table with certainty, but he saw enough to see the outlines of a few. He carefully reached for the closest one. Feeling no sharp edges he grabbed the object and began examining it with his hands. It was a screwdriver with a wooden handle. Setting the screwdriver down, Parker sat down and began running his hands over the metal bindings on his ankles. He was looking for anywhere there might be a screw that he could undo and free himself.

The bindings were smooth and had been clicked into place tightly. There were no screws. At least none near the right size for the screwdriver Parker had found. Then there was also the issue of using the screwdriver when his hands were bound so they could only spread a couple of inches apart. Sighing, Parker stood back up and began to search the table again.

As soon as Parker moved his hands to the next object there was resistance. The chains could go no farther. He tried again and again to just knock the object closer, but it was no use. The only thing he could get was the screwdriver. Although he could use it as a weapon, Parker doubted that he could seriously hurt the man with it. Plus, even if he did hurt the man he would still be stuck since he couldn't free himself from the chains.

Abandoning the table, Parker followed the chain back to were it was attached to the loop on the top of a metal bar protruding from the ground. He began to tug on the bar hoping that he could pull it from the ground. The bar wouldn't even budge. Even when Parker threw all his weight against it, ran from it, but nothing did more than make it tilt slightly in the direction he was pulling.

Exhausted, Parker collapsed on the ground. His arm was throbbing and now the bounds on his ankles and wrists were starting to dig in and the skin was turning raw. The gag in his mouth tasted awful and it seemed to suck all the moisture from Parker's mouth. He swore he was beginning to feel his lips crack from the dryness. He hadn't had anything to drink since he had finished practice.

The whole weight of his situation finally hit him. He had seen Limbo. He knew that all the bodies in the lab had been dumped somewhere in the hopes that they would disappear and the last remnants of that person lost. He knew how many went unidentified, that Bones couldn't sort through them all. He didn't really believe this man was going to let him leave unharmed. The longer Parker thought about it the more and more likely it seemed that he would become one of those bodies.

The thought of being found a decaying skeleton and sent to his own mother and father or being left in Limbo forever was too much. Parker had never really cried over anything except for a few tears when he broke his arm. He cried now though. The thought of everything that could happen to him. Of never being found, of being tortured, or killed. These thoughts combined with the pain from his arm, wrists, and ankle were too much.

He didn't know how long he sat on the ground knees pulled up against his chest almost silent sobs escaping from him. Eventually he couldn't cry anymore. There were no tears left so his body began to shake slightly.

Parker was exhausted both physically and emotionally. He kept thinking what would Dad or Bones do, but he couldn't think of anything. He had absolutely nothing with him and all he could reach was a screwdriver that wouldn't unscrew anything.

Filled with hopelessness, Parker fell asleep. It wasn't a deep calm sleep like he had at home. He would wake up every couple minutes from nightmares and he would toss and turn as much as possible in his chains. The cold hard floor didn't help. Soon Parker was shivering too, the floor had taken what little warmth he had.

As the first rays of morning began to seep through the high windows Parker decided the best thing he could do was be as brave as possible in the face of whatever was to come. He watched the door ready for the man to return. Parker was determined to stay alive and well until his parents came to save him.

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**I'm hoping to get another Chapter up on Saturday. Hope you enjoyed it and any reviews would be greatly appreciated!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Ok, so it's been a while since I posted last, but a lot has been happening. I had to go to the ER the other day due to what the doctor's decided later was a strange allergic reaction. Originally, I was going to have to get a CT scan, but once I was there and they checked other stuff they decided against it. Anyway, they gave some medicine and now I am pretty much back to normal. **

**Enough about me, I don't own Bones and here is Chapter 8.**

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Chapter 8

They stood silently for a while. Bones by the door with her eyes towards the floor and Booth watching her from the middle of the room. Bones knew they had agreed to wait fifteen minutes before following Angela and Hodgins to the lab, but she wanted to leave now. The presence of her friends had been comforting. For the first time Booth's presence wasn't. Booth knew there was something she wasn't telling him and she could tell how much that was bothering him. It was coming off of him in almost physical waves.

She couldn't look him in the eyes so instead she just kept hers fixed on the ground. She didn't even notice that he was walking towards her until she felt his hand on her arm.

"Bones, come on. We should at least eat something while we wait," she couldn't detect anything unusual in his voice. Somehow that was worse than if he had been angry at her.

"Yeah, ok," Bones was hardly even listened and she responded out of habit.

Booth escorted Bones to the table and gently forced her to sit down. He went into the kitchen to find something he could make quickly. The pasta had gone cold, so he grabbed some leftover pizza and lettuce from the refrigerator. He blindly went through the motions. He heated up the pizza and then made a salad for Bones. Booth put the salad down in front of Bones and sat across from her.

She thanked him mindlessly and poked at the salad with her fork. Booth ate his pizza and sat watching Bones. Finally he said, "Bones, you have to eat something."

"I know," she gave a resigned sigh.

"Then why aren't you eating?"

"I just don't know if I could keep it down."

"Is there anything I can do? Do you want something else?" Booth sounded desperate as if her not eating was the biggest and only problem in the world and he needed to fix it.

"No, it's ok," Bones looked up and met his eyes for the first time since Angela and Hodgins had left. Slowly, she started eating the salad.

Booth stood and took his plate into the kitchen. He washed it in the sink wanting to take more time. Being alone with Bones was hard. He wasn't sure what to do anymore. He wasn't sure how to act around Bones. Booth didn't want to do something that might hurt her, but he didn't know what she needed.

Booth stood by the sink hands gripping the edge. His knuckles were turning white. He didn't understand why this had to happen to him and Bones. Why they couldn't just live like a normal family. Maybe, it was time to get a different job. Something that wouldn't put any of them in harm. He knew it would take a lot to convince Bones to quit her job, but he had been able to get her to marry him.

After they got Parker back he could use that to make her realize why she needed to quit her job. He knew she would be mad at him if he did, but it would be the easiest way to convince her. Booth's thoughts were interrupted by Bones' hand on her arm.

He turned and took the empty plate from her hands. "I'll take care of it," he spoke softly.

She nodded slightly and left the room. She went and sat on the couch waiting for him. Bones was only able to stay still for a matter of seconds. Then, she got up and started pacing the room. When she heard him putting the plate away she stopped and picked up her bag from the floor. Booth exited the kitchen and silently walked towards her. He picked up his own bag and followed Bones to the door.

Booth couldn't get it out of his head. Things had never been like this between them before. He just kept telling himself that everything would go back to normal as soon as they got Parker back and to do that he needed to focus and figure out who had kidnapped his son.

Booth opened the door and held it open for Bones. Exiting the apartment after Bones Booth locked the door and led the way to the car. As Booth exited the building he surveyed the area. With everything that had happened his sniper training was beginning to kick in. He examined everything around him looking for anything suspicious.

Seeing nothing out of the ordinary and wanting to get out of the area as soon as possible, Booth opened Bones' door for her and then entered the car on the driver's side. Taking one last look around he entered the car. He turned on the engine and drove in silence towards the lab. They rode in silence the whole way there.

When they arrived at the lab Booth handed his bag to Bones and she turned away to go to Limbo. Booth watched her as she left. Then, he too turned, but he went towards Angela's office.

Angela had been pulling all the files from past cases up on her computer. Then she began by eliminating the people that had been put away and all the females. However, she still had all the male relatives and friends of every person they had locked up. Then there were all the people who had gotten fired or injured in someway by Brennan. The list was very long and she knew that it would take the computer a long time to narrow down the results based on her three sketches. She scanned the sketches, then she also typed in the estimated height, weight, and age of each person. Setting the computer to search for a match knowing that even with the information they had it would take a long time. They were really good at their jobs and had caught a lot of people. Then there was the fact that Brennan wasn't the nicest person to get along with if she even suspected you were a criminal.

She sighed as Booth walked in, "Booth, I just entered the data into the computer so there's not much else we can do."

Booth nodded. "Is there anything I can do," Booth looked down and ran his fingers through his hair. "I mean I need to do something. I can't just sit here."

Angela's voice was filled with sympathy, "I know Booth. We should find the manufacturer of the electronics that were on the bed."

"Where are they?"

Angela walked to the evidence bag on her desk, "Here. The names have been scratched off, but there is still part of the insignia."

"No serial number on either?" Booth seemed glad to have something to do.

"I didn't see any, but you might want to double check." Angela replied as she turned back to the computer and brought up a search window. "I've scanned the insignia and based on the scratch marks I might be able to fill in a little of the missing section."

Booth nodded and sat down to examine the devices. He put on latex gloves and pulled open the evidence bag. He began by looking over every nuance of each device. Then he began to disassemble the speaker hoping to find something on its interior components. Booth was just about to move onto the recorder when Angela's voice broke through his concentration.

"Booth, I've got something. The insignia is for CEE. It's a consumer electronics company based in California. They sell their products through electronic store chains," Angela alerted Booth.

"Ok, can you find all the stores in the DC area that carry their products?" Booth had walked over to see the screen.

"Ya, just give me a minute," Angela was already typing information into the computer. "Ok, here's a list off all the stores in the DC area. There are twelve."

"We should start calling them up and asking for all the people who have purchased devices of the same model in the past week," Booth said as he reached for his cell.

"Booth, it's three in the morning. There won't be anyone there."

Booth ran his hands through his hair. Fine, I'll visit the stores tomorrow and ask for the lists. Once we have a match from your sketches we can ask to see security footage of anytime someone purchased those models," Booth continued running agitated fingers through his hair.

"I'll go see if Hodgins has nay updates," Booth turned to leave just as Hodgins burst into the room.

"I analyzed the particulates found on the fake skeleton. They matched the particulates found on the remains that were brought in the other day."

"That doesn't help. Brennan already figured that much when she saw the marking on the arm and the hole in the head implying that the fake skeleton represents the one we already have," Booth's voice raised as he paced the room.

"I'm sorry, but there really isn't anything in the samples to narrow down the area," Hodgins walked over to the computer and after punching a few buttons a map came up on the screen. "The particulates could've come from a quarter of the DC area," a section of the map lit up as he said it. "The only way these particulates could have gotten on the skeleton is from being blow onto it, so once we have time of death we can search for winds strong enough and in those areas. Until then there isn't any new evidence to narrow down the results."

"Is the data being run through the missing person's database?" Booth was getting desperate.

"I took the information Brennan was able to gather and began a search for the victim as well. Booth everyone is doing their job," Angela replied sadly. She understood Booth and knew that he hated this part of a case. The waiting around with nothing to do, knowing that a murderer was running free ate at him. Now, with the murderer having Parker it must be killing him.

"How about time of death. What is being done to find that?" Booth sounded almost angry now.

"I'm working on it, but I am just waiting for the results of one of my tests," Hodgins replied.

"Well, go check on them," Booth demanded.

Hodgins left the room even though there really wasn't much he could do until the tests were done. He decided to at least to test the blood for blood type. He wouldn't be able to determine whose it was exactly, but he could try and rule out Parker with blood type. He would have to wait till everyone else arrived to get a complete test done, but this waiting was killing him too.

Sitting down with a small portion of the blood sample he began to analyze it under a microscope.

***

Brennan stood alone with the disassembled skeleton in Limbo. She shivered even though it wasn't cold. She was alone in a large room with no security. Trying to ignore it, Brennan decided it would be better to separate each bone. She glanced around the room uneasily before beginningg to un-screw the parts of the skeleton. Once she was finished she stood over the skeleton unsure of what to do. This wasn't a real skeleton so there was no cause of death or identification. Finally, she decided to exam it for anything that might give a clue to how the skeleton was treated. She decided that if the person was short or tall, strong or weak, or careful, or not might be present in how they made the injures on the fake skeleton. The remodeling had been represented by spongier bone. Bones heal by first creating porous trabecular bone before that bone is replaced by compact bone. Brennan knew she would need Hodgins to take a sample to try and find what chemical had been used to decrease the density of the fake bone.

She then moved on to the head wound. Without the brain tissue or exterior tissue a bullet shot through the skull would likely continue through the front of the skull. Lack of a bullet hole on the facial bones suggested that something had been placed in the skull to stop the bullet after it passed through the lambodial suture. The wound was clearly caused by a single projectile and had not been faked by a drill of the same diameter as the bullet from the real skeleton. She picked up the skull and held it under a magnifying lens. Looking into the skull through the foramen magnum, Brennan examined every visible part of the interior of the skull. Figuring there wasn't much more to be gained by looking at the skull with just the magnifying lens, Brennan took the skull and headed upstairs.

She found Hodgins pulling up data on the computer by his station. He spun around quickly and slammed into Brennan. She almost dropped the skull at the impact, but was able to hold onto it by the mandible.

"Sorry Dr. Brennan, I was just about to let Booth and Angela know what I found out about time of death," Hodgins motioned for Brennan to follow him towards Angela's office.

Booth was examining the devices and Angela was watching the computer screen when Brennan and Hodgins entered the office. Hodgins wasted no time as soon and as Booth and Angela turned he began, "I found Neivamy- insects on the remains that indicate the body was buried in a shallow grave in a type of soil present within three miles of the Potomac River. It was probably buried there for quite some time before the body was dumped anywhere along the East Potomac above the John Phillip Sousa Bridge. The particulates on the skeleton could not have gotten there before the body was moved because most of the decomposition took place at the second location in open air. The particulates on the outermost flesh and clothing match those on the bones suggesting that the body decomposed mostly in the second location. Basically, the body was probably moved to its second location along the river around seven months ago which corresponds with the dry summer months. A high wind must have been present in recent weeks in order to not only uncover the remains, but also to blow seeds from the various trees in the National Arboretum onto the skeleton. The remains must have been buried above ground, maybe under a very small amount of soil, within two miles of the Arboretum," Hodgins moved towards the computer and entered the data into the map of the DC area.

"I can contact NOAA in the morning and request information on wind speed and direction from the past two months in the morning," Angela said.

Just then the computer beeped, alerting Angela that a match had been found for the remains. Minimizing the map, Angela brought up the results. The remains were those of ten year old Brandon Green. Angela set the computer to print the missing person file and handed it to Booth, "You should notify the parents tomorrow and you might want to alert them to the situation."

Booth nodded, taking the file and flipping it open. It contained the x-rays from the arm injury and date of disappearance. Brandon had disappeared a year ago after school. His arm had been broken a month before he went missing. That would help with time of death. "We can request the x-rays as well. Bones, you can find time of death by how much the arm has healed right?"

"Yes, I should be able to," she mumbled while still staring at the young boy's face.

Angela followed Brennan's gaze and minimized the file on the screen. "Bren, to you have anything?" Angela asked pointing to the skull that Brennan was holding.

"Yes, Hodgins, can you search the interior of the skull for any particulates. I believe that something must have been put inside to stop the bullet from continuing into and through the facial bones."

Hodgins nodded and took the skull from Brennan. "I'll start on it right away."

Hodgins left the room and Brennan followed him out , heading towards Limbo. Angela and Booth were once again alone in the office. Angela turned back to the computer and then back to Booth, "You should sleep. There isn't anything else to do here tonight and you need to sleep sometime. We don't need you falling asleep at the wheel or anything, so it would be best for you to try and sleep now. I'll stay up and wait for the computer to find something."

"Ange, I don't think I would be able to. Not with everything that has happened," Booth's sad eyes met Angela's.

Angela walked over to her bag and pulled out a bottle of pills. "I know you're not sick, but this medicine will knock you out for a couple hours.

"You'll wake me up if anything happens right?"

Angela nodded, "Of course."

Booth took the bottle and moved to the counch. Popping a couple of the pills into his mouth and dry swallowing them, Booth lay down and waited for the drugs to take affect thinking about Parker. At first he thought about all the times he spent with Parker, but as he grew closer to sleep his thoughts became darker. He thought again about all the things that could be happening to his son until his mind went blank.

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**I was having some trouble with how this chapter should end and all so its a crappy ending, but anyway what did you all think? Oh, and I apologize for any extra grammar mistakes, but I was kinda messed from something the doctors gave me. Also, I'm not the greatest with this case stuff, but if you can suffer through it, then it will end soon.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Here's Chapter 9. Sorry that it took so long to get it up. Birthday weekend = festivities galore! GO PICES! Anyway, my spring sport starts tomorrow, so I'm not sure how much I am going to be able to write over the next couple days, but I am going to try and get another Chapter up on like Friday. This chapter may seem a little random, but it will come into play later. Everything happens for a reason. : ) Read on!**

**I don't own Bones.**

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Chapter 9

The blank hole of Booth's thoughts were slowly filled with visions from his past. At first it was just flashes of seemingly random events. Bones was present in most and the ones that she wasn't in, Parker was. They were his family. The people he loved most in the world. Angela, Hodgins, Zach, Cam, and Sweets were there in some, but nothing compared to Bones.

He saw Bones sitting across from him at the diner, Bones at the lab on the forensics platform, and Bones in his arms after saving her from Kenton. The next second he was at her apartment eating the delicious macaroni and cheese she had made him. It all made the image of her sitting on their couch to tell Angela something she wouldn't tell him, so much worse.

His mind went through all the possibilities. Images of Bones divorcing him, Bones dying in a hospital bed, Bones being pregnant, Bones sleeping with someone else, and every other thing he could think of that Bones wouldn't be telling him. He couldn't help thinking it was his fault. That he had done something or said something that had made Bones believe she couldn't be open with him.

Booth truly believed that everything that happened to Bones was his fault. He blamed himself for all the times she was kidnapped, shot at, targeted by murderers, and emotionally hurt by anything. Then his mind focused on the kidnapping that had changed it all.

***

_As Booth woke with a throbbing pain in his head, the first thing he noticed was the smell. It smelled like a hospital or mental institution. It smelled sterile. When he was finally able to open his eyes he was staring up at a blank ceiling from witch a single dim light was imbedded. His body ached and his muscles didn't seem to be responding well. He wasn't able to focus on anything._

_Booth could feel something on his chest. He struggled to move, but his hands were held by heavy cuffs and a chain and the weight on his chest prevented him from sitting. He could hardly even raise his head enough to see the shape that was on him._

_From the little that he could see, Booth determined the shape was human. Focusing closer, Booth was able to guess that it was his partner. A soft groan emitted from the shape and Booth saw a pair of cloudy blue eyes flutter open and closed. His mind was groggy but Booth vaguely remembered a body at the lab and Bones and him in the car, but it was all too fuzzy._

"_Bones," he called out gently._

_Bones moved slightly and very slowly in response to her name. She lifted her head until her leaden eyes met his. _

_Dazed, she whispered, "Booth."_

"_Yeah, Bones. Are you okay?" His words were slightly slurred, but the concern in his voice was clear._

_Her head fell back onto his chest and she mumbled, "I don't know. I can't seem to move and everything aches," She paused, "Booth." He felt her push into him slightly before continuing, "Booth, my leg. I can't move it," her voice was getting higher and more anxious. "Do you remember anything?"_

"_No, I think we were drugged," he murmured back."We should try to sit. Then I can look at your leg."_

_He could feel her struggling to sit up and moved as well. He tried to help her sit by pushing her up with his hands. Once she was sitting next to him, Bones leaned down and helped pull him into a sitting position. That's when Booth noticed that they were chained together. Their hands were connected by a heavy chain that matched the one binding their feet. _

_Now that he was in a sitting position, the nerves in Booth's side were screaming at him. He inhaled sharply and moved his hands to ribs. He knew that Bones would notice the movement. Every time one of them moved it affected the other._

"_Booth," she turned towards him and grabbed his hands in her own. "Are you okay?"_

_Booth clenched his teeth and forced out, "Let's take a look at that leg."_

_Bones had let him move away and towards her leg. It didn't take long for him to see that her leg was going to need medical attention. Her shin appeared to be split about halfway down and when he touched her leg his hands came away covered in her blood. He thought for a second that he saw a little piece of white sticking out of the wound, but he pushed it from his mind. Booth was grateful that the drugs they had been given seemed to be blocking out most of the pain._

_He moved back to sit next to her against the wall. "It's nothing Bones."_

"_Booth, don't lie." She was wincing and appeared to be out of breath, "I can feel it."_

"_Just ignore it okay," he held her close to his chest and spoke softly into her hair."Just relax Bones, try to forget the pain." Booth fought to keep his own pain out of his voice. As soon as he had pulled her into his chest a new spike of pain had flared up._

_He leaned back and put his head against the wall. Closing his eyes, Booth clutched his injured partner and focused on her hands on his shirt instead of his own pain._

_He felt her shifting against him and opened his eyes to look. Her blue eyes were clearer now, but he could see they were also filled with pain. He was sure his own eyes mirrored hers. Booth was exhausted and the agony was just increasing._

"_Booth, where are you hurt?" Bones demanded._

"_It's nothing Bones," he said, but he couldn't stop his hands from moving briefly to his side._

"_Let me look at it," she whispered softly into his ear while gently pulling his hands off. Slowly, she lifted his shirt up. He heard her gasp and looked down to see the wound for himself. His side was purple and red. Blood covered his shirt and stomach, but there was only one laceration. The rest was just a mass of purple bruising that went down his whole side. _

"_So, how is it?" Booth inquired._

"_It's nothing Booth. You're fine," she muttered as she pulled his shirt back down._

_Booth let out a pained laugh. "You can't lie to me."_

"_I can try," Bones declared faintly._

_Booth held his arms out and reached out to put them around Bones. She moved closer to him and ducked under his arms. Bones leaned against his shoulder, careful to miss his injured side. _

"_Everything is going yo be okay," he mumbled softly._

_They sat together for a long time. Both of them in more pain then they were willing to admit, but neither wanted the other to worry. Bones was just beginning to fall asleep when the door was throw open. _

_Three men dressed in clean white uniforms that covered their whole bodies and who had white face masks and dark glasses entered the room. The men approached the silent pair. Booth held on to Bones harder as he heard her whisper, "Don't let us get split up."_

_The men roughly pulled them apart as Booth fought with what little strength he had to fend them off and get back to Bones. With her hands bound, still under the influence of some of the drugs, and with a badly broken leg, Bones was not in any position to fight, but she tried anyway. She lashed out at the man who was unlocking the chain that had bound them together. Bones screamed and kicked out with her good leg as she was lifted off the ground. _

_Booth fought desperately with the covered man as he watched Bones being pulled to her feet._

"_Bones!" He screamed as he thrashed out, ignoring the pain._

"_Booth!" Bones, terrified voice filled the air. _

_He could see her kicking and writhing in the man's arms as she called his name over and over again. The fear was evident in her eyes as she was hauled away from him._

_Booth wrestled the man on top of him as the door shut behind his partner. He felt a sharp blow to his head and the world spun. The man stood and left the room, leaving Booth alone. _

_Booth sat alone in the room. Somehow without Bones there the pain seemed to increase astronomically. It felt like an eternity before the door was opened again. Two of the uniformed men were dragging something behind them. Booth struggled to stand as his partner was throw to the ground next to him. One of the men shoved Booth to the ground while the other reconnected the chains. _

_Bones was unresponsive. Booth didn't know what they had done to her, but obviously it had hurt her. The men left and Booth cradled Bones in his arms. He looked over her skin checking for injures. He found puncture marks on her arms. _

_They were drugging her. He was just falling asleep when he felt her stirring in his arms. _

"_Booth," it was weak and barely audible._

_He was awake immediately, "Bones, I'm here." _

_She relaxed upon hearing his voice and almost lovingly muttered, "Booth."_

_She still hadn't opened her eyes and Booth was beginning to get even more worried about her. "Bones, look at me."_

_He watched as the skin covering her eyes moved slightly and fluttered slightly. He glimpsed a sliver of blue, but otherwise her eyes remained shut. Booth gripped Bones tighter, waiting for her to look at him. Finally, her eyelids lifted and Booth nearly jumped at the sight. Her eyes were cloudy and seemed almost crazed. He waited for her to say something._

"_Booth, I-I can't see right," her voice was full of fear and she gripped at his shirt. "Booth! Watch out!"_

"_What?" Booth looked around him, but there was nothing there._

"_No!" She screamed as she shoved him to the ground._

"_Bones! What is it?"_

"_The man. He almost shot you!" She said breathlessly._

"_Bones, there isn't anyone else here." Booth held her gaze as he spoke._

"_Booth, I-it doesn't make sense. Help," Bones begged him and tugged at him._

"_Bones, just hold onto me and keep your eyes closed."_

_Over the time of their kidnapping, they swapped places again and again. One of them would be taken and the other forced to wait. Each time something different would be done to the one that was taken. It couldn't have been weeks or just days, but one time they took them both. _

_Bones was taken out first and at first Booth just thought it was going to be like every other time. However, minutes later more of the guards entered and dragged him out. They took him down the hall and into a sterile, white room. A table sat in the middle of the room with trays of medical instruments around it. Bones was strapped to the table and from the looks of it, she was almost unconscious. _

_One of the guards stayed behind Booth while the other one left through the door on the opposite side of the room. Booth stood silently, staring at his partner lying on the table. Then the memory transformed into a vision. It was haunting and terrifying._

"_Booth, it's my fault. I'm so sorry," Bones called out to him as she lay on the table._

_A voice was calling his name. He ignored it and threw his head back into the man behind him. Turning his right hand crashed into the man's jaw. Booth threw another punch at the man's temple. The man collapsed behind Booth as he turned and headed towards Bones. He stopped next to her. _

_Bones stared at him with her blue eyes. Her eyes were moist and she called to him, "Booth, please."_

_Looking down at Bones, Booth silently reached towards the tray of instruments next to the table. He selected a scalpel. Booth's eyes traced her body and landed on her face. He smiled as he whispered, "You're right. It is your fault." He brought the hand with the scalpel down and the blade plunged into her chest._

_Bones' eyes grew wide with pain and surprise, but they never left Booth's. Booth grinned wickedly down at her. "You tempted me with your looks and your smile. You strung me out for years. Then, once I finally had you, you betrayed me. You let me believe that you loved me, but then when I needed you the most you sent me away. You pushed me away so I had to watch you suffer while I was missing my son. Did he ever mean anything to you? Did you ever really care about Parker or was he just another person to destroy?"_

"_Booth," she begged as she tried to look away from his crazed eyes._

_Booth grabbed her and forced her to look at him. He held Bones as he bent down and kissed her. Pulling away he sighed, "I love you. I always have, but after everything that you have done." Shaking his head he grabbed the scalpel. "What did you expect me to do? I couldn't let you live." _

_He kissed her once more before twisting the blade in her chest and pulling it out. She screamed out in pain and he watched as the life left her._

***

Booth was screaming and thrashing around on the couch. When he was finally able to take in his surroundings, Booth saw that Angela was standing above him. She looked horrified, but her hand was still outstretched toward him.

"Booth," she said tentatively.

"Ange, I'm okay-I just had a bad dream," Booth sat with his head in his hands.

"That was more than just some bad dream," Angela sat next to him on the couch and placed her hand on his arm. "Booth, tell me what happened?"

"I killed her. I watched her die from my hand. I blamed her because she wouldn't tell me- Ange, I stabbed her and enjoyed watching her die," the pain in his voice nearly broke Angela's heart.

"It wasn't you. Booth, you would never hurt Brennan. You love her and could never hurt her," Angela said comfortingly.

"It came from my subconscious. It means something. Maybe, its my brain's way of telling me what might happen in the future. I trust Bones, but I also know her. I know if there is something she isn't telling me than its something she is going to need help dealing with. I need her to let me help her. If she doesn't-I don't know what I will do." He took a deep breath, "Ange, I feel like I'm losing her."

"Booth, she will tell you. If you can just last a couple days, she will tell you. She cares about you almost too much. She doesn't want to burden you. She still has trouble understanding that you want to help her. That you are willing to be burdened on her behalf. She is trying to deal on her own because no matter how much she has changed, she still has the same independence and strength she did when you met. She has just become more aware. More aware of how her actions effect you and she's scared of hurting you. So when something big happens she reverts to her old independence in fear of hurting you. She just needs time to catch up. Take care of her, but give her time Booth. I promise you that she will come around," Angela wished she could just tell him. She was so close to just spilling everything and letting him run to Brennan and try to save her. The truth was Brennan needed to be the one to let him save her, so Angela held her tongue.

"You're sure she will tell me soon?" Booth asked hopefully.

"Yes, I'm positive. Now, I'm going to go make us some coffee," Angela announced as she stood and exited the office.

Booth sat on the couch, alone. He couldn't get the image of Bones dyeing out of his mind. He kept feeling his hand stabbing the scalpel into her chest. He kept hearing her call his name. It had all been so real. The room, the men, the table, Bones, those were all real. He remembered them from the kidnapping, but that wasn't how it had happened.

Bones had been tortured in front of him, and he had been told it was his fault. Then, he had been injected with some drug and the both were thrown into their room. He and Bones had comforted each other, and, eventually, he had let it slip that watching her being tortured was worse than any other torture because he loved her. She had been somewhat stunned to hear it, and she hadn't said anything back. She had just held him tighter and kissed him briefly. He understood that she couldn't say it. Bones hadn't pulled away and that was enough. She was letting him in, but she couldn't give him everything all at once. He didn't care. Booth had known that if they were rescued, then he could work on being with her. There was nothing for him to do while they were locked up. He wasn't going to force her when she was already being put through so much, but once they were healed then he would talk to her about a future. Booth was just going to take it slow. They had been rescued that same day. It was as if the fates had locked them up until they acknowledged their feelings and soon as they did they were free.

Booth knew that now would be no different. She had opened up and let him in, but there was the small part of her that she kept to herself and if he every hoped to completely have her then he would have to wait. Booth knew he could do it, he had done it before. If she needed a little time then she could have it. Only a little, Booth decided. If she hadn't told him within a week after they rescued Parker, then he would confront her. He would give her time, but he didn't have forever and neither did she.

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**Thanks for reading and keep an eye out for a new chapter sometime around Friday night US EST time.**

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	10. Chapter 10

**Thanks to the people who have reviewed. Sorry it took so long to update. I was out all Friday and Saturday. Anyway, here is Chapter 10. **

**I don't own Bones.**

Chapter 10

Wednesday Morning -

The normal lab staff was just arriving when Bones exited Limbo. She had dozed off for a while and woke to another terrible headache. After waiting for the headache to die down, Bones had finished her work and was going to find Angela and Booth. When she saw the man sitting on the couch, Bones resolved to tell him everything tomorrow night if nothing was found in the next 36 hours.

The slump in his shoulders and the far off look in Booth's eyes broke her heart.

She had never seen him like this. There were dark bags under his eyes and all his movements seemed to be painful. His eyes were dead. The light that had always been her guide and her strength, the light which had defined him, the light that made him so much different form everyone else was gone. He was so lost and it was her fault.

Bones stood outside Angela's office, she couldn't bring herself to go in and face them. She could tell Booth and Angela what she found out after he had left, that way she wouldn't have to see his eyes up close. She ran back towards Limbo.

Running was something she was good at, so until the time came to tell Booth everything, she would run. It was her defense mechanism for when her world began to fall apart. She was sick, the Booth she needed was gone and in pain because of her, and her son was kidnapped. She knew she couldn't run as far as she might have liked. There was no way she would be able to get away from the lab. Not without Booth noticing or sending out a search for her. She would have to be content to just hide in Limbo. If she wanted to, Bones could hide from anyone down there. It was big and she was one of only a few people who knew every corner of the room.

***

When the morning finally came, Booth was still in Angela's office. After the nightmare he had just sat on the couch unable to move. When he realized that the lab staff was arriving, Booth began to read over the victim's file. He would have to go tell the boy's parents first thing. He wasn't sure what exactly he was going to tell the family about what was happening. Booth knew that he would have to say something because there was a good chance their son's remains would have to be given up. Even though it wasn't an official case, Booth wanted to have the consent of the family.

Sighing, Booth stood to leave the office. He called to Angela as he left, "Ange, I'm going to talk to Mr. And Mrs. Green. Keep an eye on Bones and make sure she doesn't leave the lab." He was out of the office and exiting the lab before Angela even got the chance to respond.

It had been years since Booth had driven to alert a family without Bones coming with him. Everything was just so wrong.

On his way to the Green's home, Booth received a text from Bones. He rarely ever got texts from Bones during a case. Mostly because she was always with him and the few times she wasn't she would always call. All it said was: The victim was alive for about a month after the time the x-rays were taken. Booth was almost less interested in the information the text gave compared to what it meant. A text meant that she didn't want to speak to him.

The silent car ride was just another reminder of his loneliness. Normally the drives would be filled with constant, amusing bickering. That trait of theirs had always made the rides seem so much shorter. The drive to the Green's house seemed to take an eternity. He had called ahead and told the parents that they should stay at home and that an agent would be arriving within the hour. When he finally arrived at the house he realized he wasn't sure how to act. Before Bones had become his full-time partner he had always broken the news alone. She hardly ever said anything, but when she did it was always helpful and her presence alone was comforting. Now, he would have to do it alone and he would have to tell the family about Parker and his kidnapping. He would have to tell them how it had happened and what the situation was. Booth was afraid that he might break down, but he continued to the door anyway. No matter what was going on in his life this family deserved to know about the fate of their son. Gathering up all his courage, Booth knocked on the door.

Booth estimated the couple who opened the door to be in their late 30s. The woman had kind brown eyes and dark brown hair. She was just barely taller than her husband. Mr. Green was stocky and his dark eyes were full of despair because he knew why Booth was there. Booth cleared his throat and introduced himself, "Hello, I am Special Agent Seeley Booth of the FBI." os voice softened before continuing, "Mr. and Mrs. Green, I would lick to talk to you about your son, Brandon." He found that people were always more appreciative when the person telling them about a dead child at least knew the child's name.

Mr. Green nodded slowly, "Of course, come in."

"Thank you," Booth followed the man into the house's living room.

"Would you like anything? Coffee? Tea?" Mrs. Green asked politely.

"No. Thank You."

Mr. Green motioned towards the one of the seats in the room, and Booth gave a small, thankful smile before sitting. As soon as the couple was seated on the couch opposite, Booth began. "I'm so sorry to have to tell you this, but your son is dead."

Mrs. Green's eyes were wet and she turned and buried her face into her husband's shoulder. Mr. Green's eyes darkened even more and grew extremely distant. The man held onto his wife, but turned his face back towards Booth. Barely whispering Mr. Green murmured, "It has been so long. I knew he couldn't still be alive."

Booth just nodded and waited to see if Mr. Green would continue.

He did, "What happened to him?"

"He was killed eleven months ago. He was shot. Brandon wouldn't have felt any pain," Booth replied gently. He wasn't sure if the last part was entirely true, but he hoped it would help.

A weak gasp escaped from Mrs. Green and she lifted her head, slowly, from her husband's shoulder. "Why?"

"I'm sorry, but we don't know. We haven't been able to identify the killer yet, but we have people working on it. There is something else you should know," Booth paused.

"What? All you need to do is catch the person who murdered my son. He never did anything wrong and neither have we!" Mrs. Green's voice was desperate and angry.

"I'm sorry," Booth said and turned his face towards his hands.

"Katherine, it's not Agent Booth's fault," Mr. Green whispered to his wife.

"I know. I'm sorry. What was it that we needed to know?" she inquired quietly.

"Last night, my son was kidnapped. We believe that he was kidnapped by the same people that took your son. A fake skeleton was on his bed and it had marks corresponding to the marks on Brandon's body. My wife received a call telling her not to notify the police or get any other FBI agents involved. We believe that the kidnappers are going to request your son's body as part of the ransom."

"Oh, my god."

"If they kidnappers so request your son's skeleton, I am inclined to give it to them. It's the only way to get my son back. I would appreciate your cooperation in this."

"You are going to give away my son! No! I won't allow it!" Mr. Green screamed at Booth.

"Once the exchange is made, we can take down the man who murdered your son and kidnapped mine. We will be able to get Brandon's body back and catch the man who killed him, but we have no leads right now. There may not be any other way to catch him, and we won't be able to trick these men with a fake body. Please," Booth was begging with them now.

"He is our son. I will not let what is left of him be taken away. I will not let you hand him over to the people that murdered him."

"Katherine, the only way for them to catch his killer is by letting the exchange happen. Brandon's body may never have to really even get back into the hands of his killers. What it it were the other way around? Wouldn't you want Agent Booth to let us exchange his son's body for our son's life if it were the other way around?" He turned towards Booth, "I will let you give Brandon's body in exchange for the life of your son. Please, catch Brandon's killers. Kill them if you have to, but no matter what make them suffer."

Booth nodded, "Thank you. I will do everything in my power to stop this from happening ever again."

Katherine stood, "If you fail, if you lose my son again, and if his killer gets away, I will hold you solely responsible."

"I understand," Booth replied softly.

"Please, leave us alone until you have something better to tell us," Mr. Green said as he walked towards the door. Mrs. Green stayed on the couch while Booth followed Mr. Green to the door.

At the door, Mr. Green grabbed Booth's arm, "I'm sorry about Katherine, this has been so hard for her, especially after the death of our other child, but if you do fail-"

Booth didn't let him finish, "I won't. If I do there won't be anything left in me and my wife would never speak to me again." Mr. Green nodded and Booth walked to his car.

The car ride back to the Jeffersonian seemed like an eternity. When he finally arrived at the Jeffersonian, Booth sat in his car, reluctant to go inside.

Once inside, Booth went straight to Angela's office. "Anything new?"

"Hello, to you. There were no hits on my sketch. The men who were outside of your apartment aren't people looking for revenge," Angela sighed remorsefully.

"Do we have anything to go on besides the electronics?" Booth ran his hands through his hair and collapsed on the couch.

"Hodgins handed the blood over to another tech to be analyzed. He hasn't determined what was in the fake skull yet." Angela said.

"You have the list of stores that sell the devices?" Booth inquired.

"Yeah, here you go. Are you going to take Brennan with you?" She handed him the file and he began to walk out of the office.

Booth stopped and slowly replied, "I don't think so. I'm just going and requesting the video tapes and lists. It's not really worth dragging her there with me."

"Are you sure that you're not just making excuses?"

"Ange, please not now. Bones wouldn't want to come, okay," his voice rose at the end of the statement.

"Oh, come on Booth. It's not like she's busy. She already gone over those skeletons with a fine tooth comb," Angela was getting fed up now.

"Angela, I know Bones. She just needs some time and space. She will tell me when she is ready. For now, I'm going to let her come to me when she wants to," Booth declared adamantly so that the issue would be dropped.

"Whatever Booth, but I still think you should at least ask her if she wants to come," Angela shrugged and turned back to her computer.

Booth bit his lip. Shaking his head slightly, Booth left the room and turned toward bone storage. He strode into the room and headed straight for Bones. She was sitting at a table just staring at the remains in front of her. He snuck up and grabbed her by the waist, gently. "Come on Bones, you need to get of here for a little."

She jumped when Booth touched her, but then turned around at his voice. "Booth," she complained.

"You've been down here too long and we need to eat. Arguing isn't going to work, come on," Booth said and pulled on her hand.

Bones grumbled to herself, but allowed Booth to lead her out of Limbo. She protested lightly, "Booth, I have work to do. Where are you taking me?"

"The Diner. Then we are going to those electronic stores on Angela's list," he answered.

"Fine," Bones replied with a slight pout.

At the Diner they each ate their usual meals. They didn't talk quite as much as normal and their talking wasn't as light, but it was better than the night before. Booth ordered pie and like always, Bones never ate it. When they were finished Booth once again led her to the car. Then, they drove to the first store.

Booth hooked his arm around Bones' shoulders as they entered the store. They were approached by a young man in uniform with a name tag that read Alex. Alex wore a big smile and inquired brightly, "Hello, how may I help?"

Booth smiled and reached to his belt, "You can help me by pointing us in the direction of the manager." Booth flashed his badge at the young man.

"Oh, um, sure. Follow me," he stammered and turned to lead them to the back of the store.

Booth smiled at Bones as they followed the man into an office. Alex turned and said, "Um, wait here. The manager is out in the store. I'll go find him."

A couple minutes later an older man arrived with Alex in tow. The man turned to his employee and stated, "Alex, you should probably get back to work now." Alex turned to leave and the older man reached out a hand, "My name is Josh Parsen, I heard you were FBI. What can I do for you?"

Booth took Josh's hand, "I'm Special Agent Seeley Booth and this is my partner Dr. Temperance Brennan. We will be needing a list of all the people who have bought these devices from your store in the past two months," he handed Mr. Parsen a sheet with the device information. "Also, we would like any security tapes you may have."

"May I ask why?" Mr. Parsen questioned as he moved behind his desk.

"Those items were found at a crime scene that is related to a kidnapping case we are working on," Booth said as evenly as he could.

"I'll get a list and the tapes for you," Mr. Parsen said as he began typing furiously at his keyboard. After a couple minutes the printer came to life and he inserted a disk into his computer. Mr. Parsen stood and handed them the disk and the printed sheets and said, "I hope this helps in your investigation."

"Me too. Thank you," Booth replied and took the information.

Booth and Bones continued on to eleven other stores and in each one things played out almost exactly the same. By the time they were done and back at the Jeffersonian it was almost three.

Booth tried to pull Bones into Angela's office with him, but she pulled away, saying, "Booth, you've already kept me from my job for the past couple hours."

Grudgingly, Booth let go of her hand and let her go to bones storage. Booth sighed and continued on his way to Angela's office. "Here's the security tapes and lists."

"Great," Angela turned and reached for the disks. "I noticed you took Brennan with you."

Booth ignored the comment. "Check if any of the people on the list have had criminal records. We will start there."

Angela turned, "Right, this shouldn't take to long."

Angela went down the list and typed every male name into the computer. After the search was complete, Angela stood and brought up the info on the screen. "Okay, there are six men with criminal records. None for kidnapping or assault. Most are for DUI's or parking tickets."

"So essentially we have nothing. I'll bring them in for questioning, but if nothing sticks out I'll move on to the other people on the list. Just because they haven't been in trouble before doesn't mean they aren't causing trouble now. Will you search the tapes and see if you see anyone who looks at all like what Mr. Dodd described."

"Sure," Angela replied.

They both began their separate tasks. None of them could know what was happening to Parker as they did.

* * *

**Ok, so I realized the other day that only like 1% of my readers reviewed : (. My spring break is coming up and I think I will be more inclined to write if I get some more. Please review and tell me what you think. **


	11. Chapter 11

**Thanks for the reviews!**

**Here's a Parker chapter. Sorry about how short it is. I have like the next three chapters planned, and I should have more time to write, so hopefully I can have those up soon. Anyway, here is Chapter 11.**

* * *

Chapter 11

Parker was laying on the cold concrete floor. He had passed the phase of being hungry and was now just empty. He had no thoughts for food or warmth, just for his parents. He missed their voices and their gentleness. He missed everything about them. Things he had never even noticed before. He missed the way they said his name or the way Bones would explain stuff to him. He missed his father's colourful socks and ties. He missed every little detail about them even the annoying ones like how much they kissed.

He didn't know how long he was there, but the man hadn't come back. He had been alone for what felt like an eternity. He was adjusting to the level of constant pain that was coming from his wrist, and the cut on his cheek had stopped bleeding. He knew he wasn't in that bad of shape, but he was just too emotionally wore out to expend any energy on movement. He had already tried multiple times to get out. There was nothing useful.

He couldn't sleep, he was starving, but he knew that his parents and all of the people at the lab were looking for him. He knew that Bones had made a lot of money from her books and he knew that she would pay whatever the men asked. He knew that he just had to stay strong and positive. Parker knew that he would be free soon.

His father had once told him about a ransom case. He said that in order to decrease the chances of investigators finding the kidnapped person, kidnappers try to make the deal quickly and cleanly. Maybe, they had just demanded a lot of money and therefore his parents would need some time to get all the money. They would have to go through finances and pull money out of various accounts. He had learned a lot about it from watching his father on a previous ransom case.

He remembered it because he had been forced to stay at either the FBI building, the Jeffersonian, or with his father and multiple other agents at all times. It wasn't the first time he had been placed under FBI protection, so he hadn't been that worried. He had always found it annoying that his father was so protective of him.

Now, he was wishing that his father was there to protect him. Parker felt childish to need his father's protection. He was a teenager and it wasn't like he was weak, but he wished for his father. Parker was determined not to need his father's help. To be independent and save himself.

Parker pushed himself back to his feet and moved to the table at the end of the cage. He reached for the screwdriver and then moved back to the ground near the stake. He shifted the tool and slipped it into his pocket. It was bulky and stood out. Sighing he took the screwdriver out of his pocket and brought his legs up to his chest. Parker slipped the implement into his shoe so that it was against his Achilles tendon. He pushed it into the bottom of his shoe so that only a little of the shaft and the handle stuck above his shoes. He pulled his pant leg down over the screwdriver. It wouldn't help him escape from the handcuffs, but he figured he might be able to use it if his hands were ever undone.

Parker was about to go back to the table to see if he could knock something off when he heard the warehouse door open. He moved back to the stake and lay down on the ground. He listened with his ear to the ground as footsteps echoed on the hard ground. Parker squeezed his eyes tighter with each footfall. Then the stomping stopped and Parker heard the chain on the door rattling as it was unlocked. He heard the crash as the door was throw open and the steps continued toward him.

Parker was yanked roughly against the back wall. His eyes flew open and he was looking straight into the man's crazed stare . He held Parker by the throat. The man breathed on Parker's face as he spoke, "Your parents keep investigating. So blame them for what happens to you. They just can't leave things alone. Someone always gets hurt when they're around." He accented each word by hitting Parker against the wall. Parker grabbed at the man's hand. Laughing, the man threw Parker across the room.

Parker tried to brace his fall, but with his wrists bound the attempt was futile. The little breath left in Parker's lungs escaped him as he collided with the hard floor. Parker heard something snap as he hit the ground. Pain exploded from his arm and torso. Parker fought to contain his scream, but a small yelp escaped him.

As Parker struggled to get up, the man came toward him, laughing. Squatting down, the man spoke, "What do you think you are worth to them? I mean Doctor Brennan isn't even your real mom."

The next thing Parker knew, he was flying toward the wall. Parker couldn't think, all he could do was feel, but all that he felt was pain. He looked up at the man and declared, "Bones is my mom."`

"Bones?" the man laughed. "So that's what she goes by."

Parker saw his own blood pooling as the man beat him. He was too weak and with his hands tied, Parker was unable to do anything. Parker's own blood covered his face and hands. The sight of it brought all the pain back to Parker. The pain was too much for him to handle. The last thing Parker remembered was being shoved into the ground and the cruel laugh of his kidnapper.

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**Thanks for reading and please review!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Ok, first off let me say, I'm sooooo sorry for not updating sooner. To try and justify myself in a somewhat brief fashion here's what's been going on: first there was a problem with one of the systems at work so I had to do a little extra to rewire it before getting it packed up to be driven down to Florida, then I almost literally had a track meet every day, we had a paper that was worth like 30% of our quarter grade along with tests in every subject, then I was preparing a presentation about my charity for Global Youth Service Day and the video I was supplied with was the wrong format so I had to spend several hours just converting it before I could even begin the video before having, and then I was helping to run a children's carnival all on top of regular track practice and school. I know some people have more, but it was somewhat disorienting which made it hard to get a good chance to write. Now that I've rambled on about what has happened to me here is the next chapter. This chapter is a little short, but I'm putting up Chapter 13 as well and hopefully chapter 14 will follow soon after, but you never know.**

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Chapter 12

Thursday, Late Morning

After interrogating the six men who were their best suspects, Booth moved on to the other men who purchased the devices. He requested them to come to the Jeffersonian Thursday. The day had been pleasant, all things considered. He walked into Angela's office, "Ange, anything new?"

"No, I have been looking at this security tapes for like hours, but there is no one that resembles the man Mr. Dodd described," Angela sighed.

"I'll help. Can I see your sketch?" Booth asked.

"Sure, and the stack of tapes is over there," Angela said, pointing to a stack of disks. She moved to her desk and picked up a picture, handing it to Booth she continued, "Booth, even if we don't find anything. We are going to get him back."

Booth nodded solemnly, "Ange."

"Don't. You don't need to say anything," Ange quickly interrupted. "Let's just work."

They spent the next half hour watching the tapes. There was nothing. None of the people who bought the devices looked like the man in Angela's drawing. They all looked completely harmless and most of them didn't look like they could even carry Parker. Booth ran his fingers through his hair. Standing, he told Angela, "I'm going to go check on Bones."

Angela nodded, "This is the last tape anyway."

Booth didn't even see the lab technicians. He was headed straight for Limbo and had eyes for nothing else. He was at the door when Hodgins was finally able to get his attention, "Booth!"

"Huh, what is it Hodgins?" Booth inquired, his eyes still on Limbo.

"The blood that we found doesn't match Parker's. The blood comes from someone with O positive blood, Parker's is A positive. I thought you might want to know that's all. Also, can you tell Dr, Brennan to come up when she's done in Limbo. I think I might have found what was used to stop the bullet," Hodgins acted like it was any other case. He was holding the fake skull in his hands.

The way Hodgins treated the situation was comforting. It provided a sense or normality to the chaos going on inside Booth. Nodding, Booth replied, "Thanks, I'll let her know."

Hodgin handed the skull to Booth, "Oh, here. I've got all I need from it."

Booth nodded again. Then he turned back toward Limbo. Pulling the door open, he walked briskly down the stairs. Rows of clear, brightly lit boxes filled the stacks. The columns seemed to stretch on forever. The thought of all the dead, unidentified people in the room made him sick. There were a couple students roaming around, but overall the room was empty. Booth turned his gaze to the tables at the base of the stairs. Most of them were empty, but several had skeletons arranged in anatomical order. Eyeing a table in the back corner, he moved quickly toward it. As he drew closer, Booth saw a dark form collapsed on the edge of the steel surface.

The sight of her limp body made Booth's blood run cold. He ran the rest of the way to the table. Launching himself around the corner and to the opposite side. He gently held her by the shoulders and eased her back against the chair. He called out to Bones, concerned, "Bones." He waited for her to wake up. Shaking her gently he tried again, "Bones." She stirred, but didn't wake. Tenderly, Booth pushed several stray hairs out of Bones' face. "Temperance, wake up," he whispered.

Bones stirred. She could her Booth's voice, but she didn't want to wake up. Waking up was usually followed by a throbbing pain. She felt him shaking her shoulders, but it was the fear in his voice that cut through her sleep and brought her back to consciousness. She mumbled softly. "Booth."

"Hey, Bones," Booth sighed, relieved. "You okay?"

"Yeah, just tired," Bones muttered. She sat up and held her head in her hands. The mind-numbing headache that accompanied consciousness was starting. She leaned forward and put her forehead against the cold steel of the table. Bones focused on taking slow, deep breaths and ignoring the pain. She could feel Booth's hand on her back and it felt like her pain was being pulled out of her. The comfort he brought her made her instantly want to tell him everything. She took a breath and whispered, "Booth."

His hand left her back and he replied, "Yeah, Bones."

Bones slowly raised her head and turned toward Booth. "I'm so sorry that haven't told you. I just didn't want you to have to worry about me on top of everything that has happened," she paused. She was choking up slightly, but pushed onward, "I wasn't going to tell you until we got Parker back, but you deserve to know.

"It's okay Bones," Booth pulled her into his arms. He could feel her tighten her grip around him and bent his head down to kiss the top of her head. She was going to tell him and he was going to help her. No matter what.

"The headaches I have been having and the throwing up, it's all because-" Bones took a deep breath, "because I have a brain tumor."

Booth stiffened. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. He refused to. Every detail of his time in the hospital came back to him. How it felt to not know who you really were or who anyone else was. He had promised that no matter what it was he would be there. "Bones," he whispered, "are you okay? What is-I mean is it-are you going to be okay?"

"I'm scheduled for surgery Saturday. It has a very high success rate. Statistically, I should be okay," Bones went into rational mode, spouting out facts to try and forget about her feelings on the situation.

"I'm here, Bones,-" Booth was cut short by the noise of Bones' cell phone cutting into the silence that filled most of the room. He couldn't wrap his mind around it. The chances of them each having a brain tumor were so low, but it had happened. He had hoped that whatever was causing Bones' behavior was something he could help with, but he couldn't do anything. At least when he had his brain tumor he had the comfort of knowing the person watching him was a genius. She would only have the comfort of knowing that he would do everything he could and he would never leave him, but he wasn't even sure she believed that with everything that had happened to her before they met.

Bones jumped slightly at the noise before fumbling through her pockets for her phone. By the time she got the phone from out of her coat, Bones' phone had already rang three times. She didn't even take the time to check the caller ID before answering, "Brennan."

"Don't you mean Bones," the electronic voice mocked.

Bones froze and shot a glance at Booth. Her eyes were filled with emotion. She feared the voice, yet it brought her hope. She hated that voice, but she had to listen. She had wished to hear the voice and dreaded it when she finally did. It froze her blood and made her heart race.

"You have been investigating and trying to find Parker. If I don't get what I want you will never find him. Wire transfer two million dollars to the following account or your son will die. You will get him back Friday if I receive the money. I will contact you with the location. All evidence must be brought with you if you want your son back," the mechanical voice droned on.

Bones had already dropped the phone. She couldn't keep holding on. She couldn't keep listening. It was all too painful. Memories from her time underground and memories from her time searching for Booth all came back to her at once.

Booth retrieved the phone when Bones dropped it. He lifted it to his ear in time to hear the last words, "Everything is your fault, Bones." The use of his nickname for Brennan made Booth's blood boil.

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**So, this is a short chapter and therefore not much to write in terms of a review, but any would be appreciated. I will be publishing Chapter 13 as soon as I can (hopefully immediately after this one).**


	13. Chapter 13

**So here is Chapter 13 like I promised. It's a little longer than the last one, but still its not too long. I am hoping to write a bunch this weekend, but we'll see how it goes. Once again I want to apologize for the long delay and present the next chapter.**

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Chapter 13

Booth was glad that no lab techs were around when they had gotten the phone call. He was prepared to pay everthing immediately to get Parker back and when he had just begun to mention packing the remains for transport, Bones had exploded.

"Booth we can't give it all up! We will never catch the man responsible if we give up all the evidence," Bones tried to reason with him.

"You would rather catch this man instead of getting our son back? Is that what you're saying?" Booth retaliated.

"No! Of course not! I'm just saying we should try and do both. I need the man who did this to be caught!" Brennan yelled and turned away from him.

"I understand, but there has to be some other way. We have to give up the skeletons to get Parker back. Can't we get enough evidence before we give up the remains?" Booth inquired while moving around so that he could see her face.

"No, Booth, there isn't enough time. The tests I need to run would take too long. If we hand over the evidence then what happens? We get Parker back, but what about the man who has him, who killed that boy, Brandon, could we ever catch him?" Brennan screamed. She was venting everything from the past weeks at Booth. "That boy and his family deserve justice and we are the only people capable of doing that, but we need evidence to do it. If we give up that evidence and then catch the men, odds are those kidnappers will have already destroyed it and then we will never get justice."

"You're worried about justice when our son is going to die! All I care about is getting Parker back and keeping you safe," Booth 's voice diminished as he went on. He was losing the will to fight with her because he understood. He wanted justice, but he was more than willing to throw it all out if it meant getting their son back.

"It's just, what if this happens again? What if this men take him again? What if we can never stop them and they keep doing this to people?" Brennan was quieting down and her words were filled with pain and sadness, "I never fully understood what those people on the other side of the table felt like till now. Now, I understand why these people need to be caught. I became a Forensic Anthropologist to identify missing people. To solve mysteries in history because of what happened to me. You became a FBI agent because you wanted to stop the bad guys. You wanted to get justice and catch criminals. Now-now I have a reason to want the same things," Brennan finished in a soft yet defiant tone.

"I know," Booth reached out to her. "I will find a way to catch these guys no matter what, but we have to get Parker back. Find out as much as you can. I'm going to start getting the money. He kissed her her head gently. "Come on," he said and reached out his hand.

Bones folded her arms over her chest and looked up at him, "No, I'm staying and focusing on finding out everything I can. I don't need you to be protecting me. I'm safe here in the Jeffersonian."

Sighing at Bones' stubbornness, Booth explained, "I'm not making you come with me, but I'm not leaving you alone. You are going to be near Angela or Hodgins at all times. With your current condition, I don't want you to be alone. Something could happen."

"Booth," she began to argue.

"No," he interrupted Bones, "now come on. You can work upstairs or have one of them come down."

Knowing that Booth was never going to change his mind, Bones sighed and let Booth lead her out of Limbo. Secretly, she had realized that what he said was true, she shouldn't really be left alone. The doctor said that some of the headaches could be quite bad and she might also experience some vision problems. Also, she had gotten used to Booth's protective nature a long time ago.

Whenever they were on a case and anyone so much as looked at her wrong he would threaten them and Booth could be intimidating. Of course not to her. She could never be scared of Booth. Sure he did things that seemed crazy or dangerous sometimes, like shooting the clown off an ice cream truck, but she knew he could never hurt her. She knew that he would always be there to protect her from anything.

She still wasn't sure she truly understood him, but she felt like whatever she didn't know about him she felt. It wasn't rational, but she could feel what he was thinking or feeling without him telling her. Booth would probably say it was just her reading people, but it felt different somehow. She had done relatively well in some of her interrogation and had been able to read some of the suspects and knew what reading people was. Being with Booth was so much different that she didn't know how to describe it. Sometimes it scared Bones, but then she remembered who she was with and any fear she had went away.

Bones had never encountered anyone like him before. She had traveled the world and Angela was the first person after her parents and brother left her that she felt wouldn't abandon her, but it was different. Angela was always there and was always a great friend, but there was something different with Booth. Angela cared about her, but Booth would die without her. Angela would hurt for Bones and she would be hurt for her, but Booth would kill for her and he would die for her. He had taken a bullet for her without any thought about his own well being. He didn't even think about the fact that maybe him taking the bullet and dyeing would be worse than any pain the bullet could have caused her.

He was the one person in her life that made her feel special and like she was important. The one person who made her feel like she mattered and had a purpose. If he died and left her like so many other people in her life already had, then she wouldn't know what she would do. She would go back to the walled off person she was before she met him. She would throw herself into her work. Bones knew she would never go out in the field again, she would never let anyone in. The pain would be too great to function normally, she would have to just go through the motions. If he left her then she would die inside and only he could bring her back. That is why she accepted his overprotective nature. She needed every part of him to be with her if she was to survive. She hated being so dependent on him, but she couldn't help it. Somehow she had let him in and he had become a part of her. She accepted every part, needed every part of who he was. She would let him help her with this. That was the only way she could keep up the strength to get Parker back. Parker was a part of him and a part of her and without him they would both be hurt to bad for anything else to truly matter. They wouldn't die from it, not entirely, but they would never be whole again either. Thats why they needed to find him. Now that Booth was part of her she cared about finding the killer more than ever. Anyone who threatened her son, a part of her, needed to be punished.

Bones was so deep in thought that she didn't even realize she was in Angela's office. Booth was talking to her and Angela was there to. She didn't even remember coming in and certainly hadn't heard a word they had said. The fact that she seemed to have stopped being herself and let her mind wander so far from what was going on worried her. She would never let something like this happen a couple of years ago. Noticing for the first time the stares she was drawing from Booth, Bones shook herself out of it and chalked her wandering thoughts up to the brain tumor.

"Bones?" Booth inquired, concerned.

"Oh, sorry what?" she replied lamely.

"I was just telling Angela about the call and what we decided on doing. You sure you're alright?"

"Yeah, go Booth, I'll be fine," she answered.

Booth turned to go, but stopped and cast a meaningful glance towards Angela. In response, Angela gave a small, quick nod before looking back to Brennan. She had never seen her friend like this, but she seemed to be a little better than the last time she had seen her.

"You told him," Angela stated.

"I shouldn't have," Bones replied sadly.

"No, it's good that you did," Angela insisted.

"Ange, it was selfish. I only told him because he made the pain go away. I told him because I didn't want it to hurt anymore not because I though he really needed to know. Now that he knows he is going to worry about it and that is exactly what I didn't want," Bones explained herself.

"You haven't figured it out yet have you?" Angela shook her head slowly.

"Figured what out Ange?" Bones inquired, confused.

"He worried more when he didn't know. Not knowing was worse for Booth. Telling him wasn't selfish because it stopped his pain as well. He makes the pain go away and thats fine, but you told him because he needed to know not just because you wanted the pain to go away. Booth knows when there is something bothering you even if he doesn't know what it is. That's why its better that you told him. It's better that he knows. If he didn't he would be spending every moment worrying and berating himself for whatever it is. This way he knows that it isn't him. If he didn't know he would automatically blame himself and that is never a good thing," Angela tried to explain it to her thick headed friend.

"Ange, I don't understand," Bones complained.

"You do, but you just don't realize it or at least won't admit it," Angela sighed and turned back to her screen.

"I really don't understand you," Bones said.

"I realized that a while ago Bren, anyway I'm done up here so do you need to go back to Limbo?" Angela asked.

"Yes, I haven't found anything yet, the bones seem to be completely unharmed except for the bullet wound and remodeled arm-" Bones began spouting off facts.

"Yeah, Bren come on lets get you back to work," Angela interrupted her.

Ange led her friend toward Limbo. Halfway there she spotted Hodgins at his station. Seeing the look in his eyes, Angela knew he had something to tell them. She steered Brennan to Hodgins because she could tell that Bren was in no state to notice him on her own.

"Dr. Brennan," Hodgins called out.

Brennan jumped slightly before turned to him and responding, "Hodgins."

Hodgins hit a few keys on his computer and pulled up charts and test results before beginning, "I found traces of aramid fibers, silicon carbide and boron carbide around the bullet wound in the fake skull. The silicon carbide and boron carbide can be used to create very strong ceramic material. Also, aramid fibers are strong heat resistant chemical fibers. These components all point to current body armors like Kevlar, Gold Flex, Zylon-"

"Hodgins," Angela said sternly.

"Right, anyway, the exact composition shows that the particulates came from Pinnicle Armor's Dragon Skin body armor," Hodgins finished.

"Can we figure out who could have got the armor?" Angela asked.

"Well, I did some research on the armor and found that it is available primarily to special operation forces, some SWAT teams, generals, bodyguards, the CIA, the United States Secret Service, and a few civilian contractors in Iraq," Hodgins said.

"Booth isn't going to enjoy hearing that," Angela muttered.

"Why?" Brennan asked, confused.

"Because most of the people who could have it are in some type of government employed position," Angela responded. She laughed silently to herself at how much her friend was still blind to when it came to everything but Booth.

"Oh, and Booth wouldn't want it to be someone who is supposed to be serving the people and protecting them," Brennan reasoned.

Angela sighed, Yeah, Sweetie."

"Good work Hodgins, see what else you can find and let me know if you find anything else," Brennan spoke in the most professional tone she could muster.

Brennan and Angela continued on to Limbo, leaving Hodgins alone to see if there was any more information to be gleaned from the particulates. Arriving in Limbo, Brennan moved to sit down when all of a sudden she let out a small cry of pain and doubled over. She held her head in her hands and groaned in pain. Angela rushed to the aid of her friend, "Bren!"

"The pills, in my purse," Brennan forced through clenched teeth.

Angela almost destroyed Brennan's purse as she searched through it for the pills. Finding the small orange bottle she quickly read the side label and dumped the right number of capsules into her hand. She scanned the tables in Limbo and the spilled contents of the purse for any liquid to wash the pills down. Seeing a water bottle with just enough water left a few tables away, Angela grabbed it and ran back to Brennan.

"Here," Angela frantically pushed the items at Brennan.

Brennan raised her head for a moment to take the pills from Angela. She threw them down her throat and took a swing of water before letting her head drop back down into her hands.

Angela hadn't realized how bad things were for her friend. She didn't know just how much pain she was in until now. Brennan had been shot, stabbed, and beaten, but she looked like she was in more pain now than any of those injures had caused her. Angela knew she needed to help, but couldn't think of any good way to do it. She couldn't take away the pain and she couldn't get Parker back.

Then Angela got an idea.

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**The Dragon Skin body armor is a real thing. I researched it a little for the story, and if I got any facts wrong I apologize. I probably don't deserve it, but any reviews would be encouraging.**


	14. Chapter 14

**I'm so sorry for the long wait and apologize for how short this chapter is. I'll briefly explain why it took so long. So I'm on vacation and I realize the charger isn't working. I tried everything, but it wouldn't charge. Then, when we reached the house there was no internet so I couldn't email my work to myself. Weeks later it started working, but I had to leave to do something with the Red Cross. I finally got back four days ago. I was finally able to get my computer in two days ago. They fixed it and I got it back yesterday, so I spent that time emailing people and working, but now I can get back to writing :) Yay!  
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**Disclaimer: I don't own Bones. **

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Chapter 14

Angela didn't want to leave her friend alone, but she needed to get back to her office to try and learn more about the case. She attempted to gently lead Brennan out of Limbo, but her friend seemed completely incapacitated and wouldn't budge.

"Bren," Angela whispered, "come on."

"Ange," Brennan groaned in pain.

"You aren't going to get any work done down here if you can't think," Angela began. "Plus there's a couch in my office and there is something I want to try. If it works it may be able to tell us where those men took Parker," Angela elaborated calmly.

Brennan whimpered slightly in response before pushing herself to her feet and allowing Angela to lead her out of Limbo. Brennan could tell that Angela was excited and really thought she knew a way to find Parker, but strangely, Brennan was not able to share in the happiness the thought brought her. Her head was throbbing and she didn't really believe that Angela had a way to find Parker. After all they had no real evidence besides the blood, which Angela couldn't analyze. Brennan sighed and collapsed on the couch and watched her friend begin bringing up all sorts of maps and information.

Angela worked furiously at her computer hoping that this would work and then everything could go back to the way it should be. She had already gotten information about wind speed, direction, and other atmospheric conditions related to pollen dispersal from NOAA. Then, she began to take all the information and construct a simulation. If she could figure out exactly how far each type of pollen traveled then she could find an area for the crime scene. As she worked, Angela refused to acknowledge the thought that even if the simulation helped it might not mean it would help find Parker. Not wanting to think about all the possibilities of what they might find she immersed herself in her work.

Brennan sat on the couch and observed her friend. She could tell Angela was holding back on everything. She could tell her friend doubted whether or not her idea would work, but Angela was trying to sound confident for her sake. Brennan silently thanked the woman in front of her. Seeing the work being down and the strength and confidence that Angela was showing helped to distract her from the harshness of the situation. Feeling completely drained she allowed her head to fall onto the arm of the couch.

Brennan was waiting for her headache to die down. Sometime along the way she became unable to measure time and so what felt like an eternity later she noticed the throbbing had ceased. It was actually just a couple minutes, but with nothing to keep occupied, Brennan though of Parker and time seemed to stretch as she imagined him in ever terrible situation she had ever been in. It was torture on her as she saw him being tied up, shot at, kidnapped, blow up, and buried alive. She remembered the terror and pain so clearly that part of her seemed to die with each new scenario. Finally the pain in her skull had stopped and the visions along with it. Without meaning to, Brennan fell asleep.

After working for a couple hours Angela's simulation was finally done. She took a deep breath and started the test. She watched as different coloured waves of pollen moved across the screen. Areas lit up and darkened as new types of pollen showed up making the possibility of them being the burial site change. After a minute the simulation was complete. There was only two small areas that fit the requirements for the pollen found on the skeleton. Angela quickly brought a map and searched it for what building would be in the two ares. One of the possible sites was just land on the edge of the Arboretum. The second had only a couple warehouses.

With the first step of her idea finished she brought up another window on her computer. She pulled up the names of all the people who had bought the CEE electronics. Then, she began looking for traffic cameras or security cameras in the area of the warehouses. She found a security camera at an intersection near the warehouse district. She used Booth's federal id to request the all the video since Tuesday late afternoon.

Then, Angela requested the vehicle information from the DMV for everyone on the list. A hour later, she had all the information she needed and began searching the video for any cars matching the any of the people who bought the CEE electronics.

Angela spent two hours sifting through the traffic video looking for anything useful. She sighed in frustration and hopelessness and reclined farther in her seat, but kept staring at the screen. All of a sudden she jerked up and quickly hit the keyboard. The video froze on the screen. A dark blue Hyundai Sonata was in the middle of the screen. The face of the driver was too blury to make out, but Angela swore she recognized the passenger from her sketch.

Excited by what her find might mean, Angela immediately reached for the phone to call Booth.

"I can't believe I didn't figure it out sooner," Angela began.

"Angela," Booth said in a stern voice, sensing an impending explanation.

Sorry, I have a possible location for Parker," Angela said as soon as he answered the phone. "It's a group of warehouses near the Arboretum. Get a team and check the warehouses."

"Ange, I can't," came Booth's sad reply.

"Why?"

"The said not to get any FBI involved. If I went to get a warrant and gather a team then I would have to tell everyone what was going on and all hell would break lose. I would be taken off the case, the would take Bones in for questioning, they may even arrest us for tampering with a crime scene or any other charge they can think of. Anything we do has to be just us, but I can't go searching through a possible location. It's to risky."

Angela's heart dropped, "Booth, I forgot. I'm so sor- wait, I'll go. Hodgins and I can g and search the warehouses."

"No, Angela, I'm not going to put you in any danger. Things are bad enough as it is," Booth said sternly.

"Booth, we'll be fine. We won't do anything but look around a little. Someone needs to look into it, maybe there will be more evidence if that is where the body was buried. Booth, there is no one else to do it," Angela responded.

"Fine, but promise me you'll be very careful," Booth resigned.

"I promise. I'll be sure to make up some cover story before we get there, just in case," Angela replied.

Angela turned around and was about to hurry from the room and find Hodgins when she remembered Brennan sleeping on her couch. She turned and wrote on a note that she was going out before running out.

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**Just want to thank all my readers again. I would be great if I could get some reviews. I may have to re-post this chapter because I feel like I might want to edit it some, but I really wanted to give you guys something to let you know I'm like still alive. I'm also going to warn that it may be a little because we are having a bunch of guests over for a while so we are going to be busy entertaining them and stuff, but I will do my best. **

**Also, just want to mention I just saw Inception and, wow, it was awesome. I had to think about it quite a bit afterward in order to have everything truly make sense because the longer you think about it the more complicated it is until you figure it out and I'm still not sure I have completely. **


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